


Heart of Amber

by AceFace98, Shivra



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Amnesia, Blood and Injury, Crystal Magic, Everyone Is Alive, Found Families, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Health Issues, Mild Blood, Nightmares, Orphans, Physical Disability, Platonic Love, Slow Burn, will continue to add tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-09-04
Packaged: 2018-07-12 01:18:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,976
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7078573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AceFace98/pseuds/AceFace98, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shivra/pseuds/Shivra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Long ago, two races ruled over Earth: Humans and Monsters.<br/>	One day, War broke out between the two races.<br/>Many years later, after countless lives were lost, the Humans were overwhelmingly victorious. They sealed all the remaining Monsters underground, so that they could never threaten mankind again. The Barrier was put in place, strong enough that no Monster could ever cross it. <br/>	Time passed, and the tales of Monsters became that of stories, and then legends.</p>
<p>There are some who suspect that the Monsters might yet live, but now question if they were truly responsible for the death of Humans.  <br/>	Monsters are tied to their magic - the makeup of their very souls. A Human could easily kill a Monster simply by forcing it to waste that precious resource and crumble into dust.<br/>	Local murmurings say that those who climb Mt. Ebott alone will never return - cursed by the restless, wrathful souls of the long-dead Monsters within.<br/>Most simply assumed the looming mountain had become a bitter monument to past actions, but the truth lies buried beneath the weight of mystery and stone…</p>
<p>Until an eighth Human falls in.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AMBER is technically not a gemstone or mineral, but a fossilized sap from prehistoric trees that has aged over the course of millions of years.  
> One of the most magical substances that exist in our world - far more magical than even diamonds with their tightly packed lattices - is amber.  
> ~
> 
> So here we go~! The lovely Shiv and I have come together to give you this and we're super excited about it!!! :DD   
> Here's to hoping I know how to Ao3 and that it links over to her well O_o

The human child could not determine how long the bus ride had been, but they could remember the physical act of taking the bus. They couldn’t quite recall all the hours they spent climbing the mountain, but they knew they had done so. They could remember small things, things like picking up a stick out of boredom, playing with the bandage around their left forearm, tripping over rocks and roots, climbing on and on without a destination in mind, but anything further beyond that was lost to them.

They could vaguely recall the desire to disappear, but they couldn’t remember why. 

They believed this to be the result of their head and body injuries, because that made the most logical sense.

The child had been climbing for hours when they had discovered the cave. It had a yawning opening, but appeared to be very shallow internally. The child had stood in the opening, breathing in the unusually fresh air, when they’d first noticed the hole.

They knew, without a doubt, that they had  _ seen _ the hole, but they couldn’t remember if they had tripped or if they had jumped.

Either way, the result was the same. They went falling down and down and down - seemingly miles - and had landed with a soft  _ thump _ that was most certainly  _ not _ deserving of the length of the fall.

The child clutched at their head, willing the world to come back to them. They managed to stumble to their feet, amazed that they hadn’t broken anything or otherwise seriously injured themself. The stick they’d been holding had also taken a fall, but even  _ it _ wasn’t broken, small as it was. The child picked it up again, holding onto it like it was the only thing keeping them alive.

_ Calm down _ , They told themself sternly.  _ You’ll get nowhere by freaking out _ . 

They looked around the cave instead, soon overcome by amazement. This didn’t appear to be any ordinary cave, somehow they must have stumbled upon an old civilization of some kind. Pillars stood around the edges, each old and worn but very skillfully carved. It seemed like they’d been carved out of the mountain itself, though they gave the appearance of holding up the cave ceiling. The child followed the pillars up, then continued on, looking through the narrowing gap up towards the cave they’d fallen in from. From this distance, light had narrowed down into a small beam, illuminating floating motes of dust in the air and making the golden colored flowers around them glow. 

The child’s gaze cast back downwards, and they could see an arch ahead of them. It was carved in the same style as the pillars, presumably by whoever had originally lived in these caves. The child walked onwards, figuring there was probably a way out of the caves if they searched hard enough. If push came to shove, they could potentially try scaling the walls behind them, but they’d rather not risk another fall.

Their head was still pounding, and something deep inside their chest felt sore. It was almost as if something had hurt their very soul, but that was probably just in their head. Considering the distance of the fall, they were still very surprised they hadn’t suffered anything worse than minor discomfort. They rubbed their aching chest with a frown, but it didn’t help much.

The fallen human continued onwards, into another small cave. The ceiling here was dotted with holes that all must’ve lead up to the cave above, since it too was bathed in light. The child was not looking forward to leaving the sunlight, but they weren’t going to get out by standing around. They took a deep breath and continued through another arch.

Was this what disappearing felt like? Were they dead? Was this some kind of dream, and they were actually bleeding out somewhere?

That was the legend: those who climb Mt. Ebott disappeared, never to be seen again. Had all the missing children just fallen down here, trapped in the caves? Was that all they had to look forward to? Their breath caught in their throat, and no matter how hard they tried they couldn’t seem to let go of the feeling of dread washing over them like a tide. Their hands shook as they walked in an effort to keep their mind off of the hoard of unpleasant thoughts.

They looked down when the sound of their footsteps began to change, the child welcoming the distraction.

The rough, unkempt mix of cobblestone and grass gradually gave way to a network of mosaic tiles. Kneeling down to take a proper look at it, the child had to squint in order to make out the divides between the colors in the stone. They blinked, realizing that they were staring at a  _ floor _ . A proper, tiled floor, that someone had  _ made _ . Not only was it aesthetically pleasing to look at, but it was clean and well-cared for despite some obvious wear. The people who had decorated this place must have gone all out. 

The child pressed on, arriving at the Ruins. Their eyes widened even further, and they clutched the stick a bit harder, staring around in wonder. Everywhere they turned revealed a new and interesting piece of aesthetic art that spoke of some culture they’d never seen before. As they continued, a pattern seemed to emerge. The walls had huge murals of various unidentifiable creatures drawn with colorful paints in a stylized hand, standing next to humans who’d each been represented in shades of color; one color for each human. The ceiling was hung with odd-looking crystals that glowed with soft shades corresponding to each of the humans, illuminating the images as well as the otherwise dark hallway with friendly pools of light. Even the pillars were decorated; vines with small white flowers snaking along their girths that almost seemed to glow as they reflected the crystals. It was beautiful down here, they decided.

Eventually, the hallway ended, and with some regret, the child ascended the steps and their eyes darted around the following room. If they had expected more of the same from the hallway, they were at once both disappointed and intimidated.

It was strongly lit by a set of bright, purple-colored crystals shaped like simplistic, upside-down hearts hung from the ceiling by dainty metal chains. There was large stone door in front of them, a darker purple than the sparse walls of the room containing it. It was lined in black, and in the center was a symbol. The child had seen the symbol before, above the arches where they had landed, but only now that it had been repeated a few times did they stop to really look at it.

Their eyes were immediately drawn to the bottom half of the symbol. There were three triangles, two slightly above the middle third, which was upside down. From some odd reason, the human thought it looked a bit like a smiley face, which made them grin a little before they forced their eyes up to the top half.

The two halves couldn’t be any more dissimilar. The top part appeared to be a circle, with wings on either side. The child stared at it, then stared at both parts together, but couldn’t make a heads or tails of the thing. Did it have something to do with the humans and the weird shapes in the hallway?

Oh well. What it might represent was a complete mystery, and they shrugged it off in favor of continuing to explore the remainder of the room.

On the floor was a series of buttons, each worn down and smooth. On the wall in front of them was a lever, a bright, contrasting yellow that stood out against the purple-tinted bricks. On the other side of the door was a sign, so the human crossed the room and read it.

The room was a puzzle. It took them a few minutes to figure it out, reading the clue and staring at the buttons.

Despite their predicament, they felt a faint thrill of adventure. Hallways of mysterious murals? Giant doors with cryptic symbols? Puzzles? The human read the clue a few more times, a smile ghosting onto their face.

_ Only the fearless may proceed. Brave ones, foolish ones; both walk not the middle road.  _

It took them a few minutes, but eventually they came up with a solution. The child stepped on the four buttons around the “middle” two, then they pulled the lever. Almost surprisingly, the door clicked open. It must have been well-oiled, as it only made a faint scratching noise as it moved. They couldn’t even see a pathway along the base of the doorframe that might have suggested it was connected to wheels.

The whole mechanism in general seemed well maintained, and well serviced. Odd. The child stared at for a moment, but then merely shrugged and moved on, unable to think of anything else to do. They stepped into another room well-lit by yellow-white crystals inset upon contoured scones along the walls.

The following puzzle appeared to have the answer labeled, done by someone named  _ Toriel _ . They mused idly as they walked. Had this Toriel been one of the previous humans to go missing on the mountain, solving the puzzle and then choosing to write the answer for anyone else who might also attempt to climb Mt. Ebott? Hesitant hope bloomed in their chest. If someone had taken the time to do such a thing, perhaps there were survivors?

The human pulled the labeled levers, surprised to see that now, instead of doors, spike traps barred the way. Whoever had built these puzzles clearly didn’t want people to pass through casually. 

Maybe they wouldn’t starve to death. Maybe they’d just get impaled with spikes.

Laughing about their situation seemed to cheer them up some. They managed to hold their head high, passing through one completely devoid, crystal-lit room before coming onto the next puzzle.

The following room was much bigger than any previous ones. The floor was shaded, with a pathway of lighter purple snaking through the stone. The child paused to look at it, but didn’t really think much of it until they came to the sign on the wall.

_ The western room is the eastern room’s blueprint _ .

Beyond the sign was a floor full of spikes with no discernible way across. The child looked at the spikes, then back up at the sign. Brows knitting in confusion, they stared at the sign blankly for a few moments before turning back they way they’d come. Their eyes almost crossed with the force of their epiphany when they fell to the floor of the otherwise dull space.

_ Oh! _ They realized, looking at the color difference in an entirely new light. They stepped back towards the western room, but paused at the the sound of footsteps.

The child whirled back around in an instant, looking out over the puzzle before them. The footsteps echoed loudly in the quiet of the caves, which put the human on edge. They gripped their stick a little harder, steeling themself against whatever threat they were about to meet.

It was another human. An adult, wearing odd purple robes pinned to their waist with a sash, and long, draping sleeves. On their chest was a familiar symbol that the child couldn’t quite make out from this distance.

For a brief moment, something about this person reminded the child of themself. Their hair was cut to the same shoulder length, worn in roughly the same style, and they had the same general face shape. That was abruptly where all similarities ended, but something about this person resonated within the child, something that made them think the two were similar in some fashion. 

The adult paused, startled, at the far edge of the spikes. They were completely dumbstruck; obviously wide-eyed even from this distance. They then waved their hands, almost in distress, gesturing vaguely for the child to stay where they were. Long, formal-looking sleeves flapped about in the nonexistent wind.

“Don’t move!” The human called, the order almost booming in the quiet, echoing chamber. It held an air of practiced authority, which was compounded by their measured steps as they walked into the bed of spikes comprising the puzzle. They didn’t flinch at all as the massive needles behind them speared upwards a mere foot behind each block of the flooring they crossed. It took them only moments to traverse the deadly traps, the child backing up wildly to make room as the intimidating figure approached.

The child opened their mouth to say something, probably, but the other cut them off before they could utter so much as a squeak. 

“What’s your name?” They asked, leaning forward, their voice shockingly loud in the quiet of the caves. The child shrunk backwards at the encroachment, radiating nerves and holding the stick before them like a shield.

They were startled enough to answer, blinking quickly in dismay.

“Fuh...” They began, but then had to stop.

The adult looming over them was momentarily forgotten in their confusion. Their brows furrowed. What...what  _ was _ their name? They had one of those, right? They  _ had _ to have, everyone had names. So...why couldn’t they  _ remember _ it? 

They clutched at their forehead with one hand, suddenly aware of their other missing memories. They had assumed it had just been because of the fall, but they were now suddenly aware that their memory had much  _ bigger _ holes in it than they had initially thought.

They couldn’t remember where they came from, why they’d gone to Mt. Ebott, where they had lived, their parents, their family, their friends. They couldn’t remember  _ anything _ .

“Hey, hey, shhh.” The adult said, bringing the child’s attention back to the present. The other had stepped forward without them realizing it, their hands stretched out calmingly. They seemed a bit sad. “It’s OK, you’re OK.”

“I...” The child began, allowing the human to reach out and gently grab their shoulders. “No I... I  _ have _ a name, and I  _ know _ I know it. It’s...no it’s  _ F  _ something, and it’s...it’s short and it’s...”

“Kid, you can stop.” The adult said, smiling gently. The hands on F’s shoulders were warm and surprisingly comforting. “You’re OK, this happens to every human who falls here.”

There were a few questions in that statement, but before the child could ask any of them, the adult pressed on.

“You  _ swear _ the first letter is F?” They asked, something like excitement blooming in their eyes. The child nodded shakily, their heart doing funny things in their chest. It was almost like it was trying to escape through their throat 

“Then you already have more of it than the others!” The adult said, a big grin stretching across their face in a clear attempt to reassure ‘F’. Still, this  _ did _ seem to be incredibly good news for this adult. Their smile was kind, their pasty skin turning rosey around their cheeks. Only now did the child realize that their eyes were bright red in color. It gave them an intensity that F would have probably found frightening if the other wasn’t making an effort to calm them. They wondered, in passing, if this adult was albino… amongst other things.

“You’re OK. You’re in the Underground now.” The adult said, kneeling down a bit more to be at eye level. “My name’s Chara, welcome to your new home.”

Questions exploded through their thoughts, but F couldn’t think of a single place to begin. They opened and closed their mouth like a fish, their thoughts spinning madly.

“Ah jeez.” Chara mumbled, their smile fading somewhat. “Come on, kid, it’s OK, OK? Nothing’s gonna hurt you here.” 

They gently squeezed F’s shoulders in a comforting manner. F looked deep into their eyes, trying to find...something. Something solid that they could latch onto, where everything made more sense.

“See, you’re fine.” Chara smiled again, but this time it was a bit more obvious that they didn’t know entirely what they were doing. “Why don’t we head towards my house, hun? You can meet my parents and my brother, and they can explain things a bit better. I never was a good Greeter.”

“Greeter?” Of all the questions they could’ve asked, they were a bit disappointed in themself that  _ that _ was the first one they’d been able to manage. 

“Someone who greets one of the Fallen.” Chara explained, standing again. “Fallen being the Fallen Humans. You might remember that this mountain is known for disappearing people?”

F nodded. Chara’s hand fell from their shoulders and instead they offered one to hold. F only hesitated a moment before taking it. Chara gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“All those humans are here now. They live with us.” Chara continued. “Let’s go meet them, OK?”

F nodded again, because what other choice did they have? The two of them faced the spike puzzle as a team this time. Thankfully, Chara didn’t run across it with them in tow, and F found it oddly satisfying to watch the spikes drop down before them. They could have really done without them shooting back up behind the two of them, though. Holding tightly to Chara’s hand, F managed not to freak out too much about it. They wondered how they would have managed this on their own. 

Chara kept shooting them small grins, but it was very clear that they were a bit uncertain. Conversation dropped entirely as the two entered a completely empty and shocking long hall. 

Finally, though, F found the nerve to open their mouth again.

“Um...M...Miss...?” They began, their voice shook when they realized they didn’t know what kind of title to use for this adult.

Chara didn’t seem to take it to heart, they just chuckled. “Just Chara, kid. I don’t use  _ she _ s or  _ he _ s.”

F blushed furiously, but they managed a smile as well. “Oh...hey me too.”

That was it, right? They weren’t a he or a she...right? Or was that just their missing memory again? They tried not to think about it too hard.

Chara smiled at them again. “Wow, looks like we’re pretty similar, hun?” 

F couldn’t help but grin a bit back. They decided they liked this human, or as much as they were able to without knowing much about them. “Um...Chara, you said...parents and brother?”

Chara nodded. “Kid, how much do you know about monsters?”

“Monsters?”

They left the hallway and stepped into a crooked chamber. Chara opened their mouth to explain, but it seemed like an explanation was waiting for them. 

The monster, because that was what F instantly assumed it was, was  _ very _ tall. They had a full half a head on Chara, and that was before the horns were factored in. They seemed oddly goat-like, with bright white and yellow fur and curled rams horns. Their paws padded silently on the stone, and they appeared to be wearing a similar purple, robe-like garment to Chara. The only real difference between the two was Chara’s sash; the monster seemed too bulky to need or want one.

Both robes had a symbol stitched onto the chest. F realized, with a start, that it was the same symbol they’d been seeing on the arches and doors. That realization quickly got pushed down as they stared at the  _ monster _ before them, getting ever closer.

The monster looked at them and appeared to bare their teeth. Their eyes, like Chara’s, were a red color, only theirs were much darker. It seemed to make them all the more intimidating to F, who clung tighter to Chara. They took a step back, opened their mouth, probably to scream, but then Chara spoke. 

“No, no, don’t worry. He’s just my brother.” Chara said soothingly.

_ Brother? _ Before F could finish that thought, the monster had all but charged over. They realized, with a start, that he wasn’t baring his fangs but... _ smiling _ ? 

They didn’t have time to think further on it, because suddenly the monster had his arms under theirs and was swooping them upwards.

“CHARA!” They shouted, smiling brightly. “LOOK AT THEM! AHH, THEY LOOK JUST LIKE YOU DID!! When on  _ Earth _ did you make a tiny doppleganger??”

Chara chuckled, but F was too busy freaking out to hear it much. They were right in the monster's face now, and it was terrifying and filled with the sweet scent of his breath.

“Chara, they’re adorable! Think mom and dad will let us keep this one?” The monster said teasingly. He turned and looked at his ...sibling?... with a large, genuine smile wrapped around his muzzle.

F was mostly bemused at the fact that the two were related than anything else, they found. Their eyes darted around frantically, and eventually they managed to see behind the horned monster.

His stubby tail--holy cow he had an actual  _ tail _ \--was wagging. 

F was reminded of dogs, and something about the memory warmed their heart a bit. They looked back at the monster, staring at his smile.

Something about the tail wag made everything seem a bit...less scary. A bit more sincere. A  _ lot _ more ludicrous. As their terror melted away, F managed a strangled giggle which brought the monster’s gaze back to them.

“You like that idea, child?” He asked, his smile looking so much more genuine and warm to F now. “Ahh you’ll like it there, I can just  _ tell _ !”

F managed another laugh as the monster drew them closer, holding them as if he thought they were a toddler. Considering their height difference, he very well might. F reached and held their arms around him, his fur soft and comfortable even through the fabric of the robe.

_ Monsters _ . Monsters underneath Mt. Ebott. But they were...such  _ kind _ creatures? Something broke inside F, some wad of tension, and everything just ran right to their emotions. They were suddenly so very,  _ very  _ overwhelmed, and tears began leaking from their eyes. Embarrassingly enough, they were soon sobbing full on. 

“Ah! Chara what...did they hurt themself?” The monster asked, their voice so full of concern that F couldn’t help but feel loved. “There, there, shhh.”

Chara started laughing, and the sound rebounded merrily off the walls of the room, filling it completely with their mirth. “Haha! Look at that, Asriel! Everyone can’t help but love you, even the new Fallen.” The older human gathered themself a bit at Asriel’s worried expression. “Nah, nah… F’s just in shock.” 

“F?” The monster asked at first, but his gaze kept darting back to the child in his arms.

“I’ll explain later.” Chara said, but F could only barely hear them over their wailing. 

“Ah...oh, jeez,” The monster, Asriel, scrunched up his face in sympathy, and F managed to calm themself enough to turn the tears into softer sobbing.  

“That’s… ah, don’t cry!”’ Asriel cooed gently. He shifted his hold on F, tucking one arm under them, holding them with their head against his chin, almost as if they were a baby. F instinctually wrapped their arms around his neck. Ariel's free hand stroked the kid’s hair, the dull claws tipping the soft paws lightly grazing their scalp. “It’s alright! You’re safe! No one’s gonna hurt you, I promise.”

F managed a gentle nod, leaning their face into Asriel’s shoulder. They felt so… unexpectedly protected in his arms. They didn’t want to give this up, and the tears had only made them even more exhausted. When they showed no signs of letting go, Asriel and Chara just shrugged and kept walking through the Ruins, the still gently sobbing child in Asriel’s arms.

“Hun.” Chara looked thoughtful. Asriel gave them a questioning look over F’s mop of hair. “I just realized... you were never here to Greet any of the Fallen, were you? It was always just me and mom or dad.”

“Yeah… they always had some sort of excuse. I guess they didn’t want me to get hurt,” Asriel shrugged the shoulder not occupied by F. If it were possible for a monster to look self-conscious, he would be doing it. “I get it, my HP isn’t spectacular like dad’s, and my magic isn’t as strong as mom’s, but… I feel like this is something I should have some experience in doing?”

F’s sobbing had slowed enough for them to start listening to the conversation, and they found themself questioning why a scary-looking monster like Asriel would be need to be wary of humans at all. Also… magic?

“Well, you’re getting it now, right?” Chara shot him a sly grin in an attempt to break him out of his melancholy mood. “Is it everything you’d hoped for? Is the workout and wet neck satiating your burning desire to greet the Fallen?”

“Har dee har har,” grumbled Asriel, adjusting his grip on the child. F produced a small sniff in response.

“Trust me, you didn’t want to be there for some of the Greetings,” Chara said with a sigh, and the cheerful expression dropped momentarily. For the first time, the older human truly looked their age - crow’s feet and other lines criss-crossed their features. F was surprised by the sight; Chara certainly didn’t act it, but they seemed to be somewhere in their fifties. “A few of them lashed out blindly in fear and anger before they finally calmed down enough that we could talk to them.” F could have sworn they’d seen Chara’s eyes flash brightly for a moment. They turned to stare down the hallway, but not before the child caught a shadow of some unreadable dark emotion pass over their face.

Asriel hadn’t seemed to notice. “Well yeah, but… I’m sure that they didn’t mean to.” Asriel countered, gesturing with his free hand at Chara. “Like you said, they were scared and felt trapped. Everyone gets scared sometimes. All of our humans are good people now.”

“Yeah, I guess they are,” Chara begrudgingly conceded. “Except Yellow,” They added after a beat, turning back to Asriel with a mischievous grin cracking across their face. With the grin, all of their age lines seemingly vanished again without a trace. Chara drew close enough to gently elbow Asriel in the upper arm. The goat monster groaned.

“Chaaaaaaaaraaaaaaa.” The drawn-out word was full of good-natured exasperation. They’d obviously had this conversation before. “Yellow isn’t a bad person! She’s just…” He scrambled for a redeeming feature. “...Very passionate about what she likes.”

“She’s just lucky Cyan can stand her,” Chara shot back at him, their gait becoming more of an aggravating skip that Asriel didn’t miss. He was giving Chara a flat look now.  “Otherwise I would have taken her back to the beginning of the Ruins and let her rot there. If mom and I hadn’t went to fetch her, she would still be yelling and stamping on switches in the very first room like an angry toddler.” Some exasperation finally creeped into Chara’s features. “Where did she even  _ learn _ curse words like that at her age?”

Asriel was finally laughing, and F decided they liked the sound. They hugged the goat monster more tightly, and received a gentle pat on the back in return for the squeeze. “That’s so mean, but... well, she  _ did _ curse a lot…” He gave Chara a knowing look that the other reciprocated. “Until mom got on her case about it.”

“Yeah. Mom can be scary when she wants to, hun? One look now and she just clams right up. And you... _ you _ just let her push you around, you big furball.” Chara elbowed him again. “When are you gonna grow into your teeth?”

Asriel huffed, turning his snout skyward. “Like I’m gonna listen to your sass! You don’t even  _ have _ teeth!”

Chara laughed again. “Yeah I do! They’re even bigger than yours!” They bared every tooth they had in a wide grin. In combination with Chara’s bright red eyes, it produced an oddly menacing look that made F dig their face into Asriel’s shoulder. They could have sworn they felt a tremor run through the monster as well.

“Ah! Stop it, you’re scaring the child! It’s okay,” he soothed, rubbing his warm hand over F’s back once again. “Chara’s not as awful as they look. They’re actually pretty decent when they’re not threatening to stuff Yellow into cramped spaces.”

When F looked up again, Chara was wearing a genuinely contrite expression so completely different from the first that it was easy to believe F had imagined it. “Yeah, sorry kid. I don’t mean you any harm. Hahah, we’re pretty awful Greeters, hun?” Chara sighed. “I usually let mom or dad handle the explanations. But… ah. I think that can wait until we get some food started. All of the Fallen were pretty easy to bribe with pie. You… like pie, right?”

F gave a reluctant thumbs up from their perch on Asriel, and Chara beamed. “Great! Pie it is. I think there’s still some left from last night-”

They paused, and F followed the older human’s gaze up to the goat monster’s guilty expression. His muzzle was surprisingly expressive.

“Asriel.”

“Uh…” The goat monster was pointedly looking anywhere but the other human. F wondered, suddenly, how they ever found him scary. They giggled at his nervous expression. 

“Aaaaaassrieeeel.” Chara threw up their hands and their eyes met the arching ceiling with melodramatic dismay.

“I was hungry, okay?” He sounded nervous. “I just… I had a lot to work on last night, and…”

“There was half a pie. HALF.” Chara repeated, deadpan. “A pie.”

Asriel was obviously reeling from guilt. “I didn’t know there’d be a Fallen today, okay!?” His voice was desperate, defensive. “And you had a fourth yesterday!”

“There is no more pie,” Chara countered, and then continued in a painfully bland voice. “If it wasn’t official before, it is now. We are without a doubt, surely, positively, absolutely, sincerely, unquestionably, unmistakably...”

“Noooo….” Asriel whimpered in the background of Chara’s monotone drawling. They were taking care to draw out each individual word for effect. F couldn’t help snorting a little at the two’s banter.

“...expressly, indubitably, no if ands or buts about it... the  _ worst  _ Greeters to have ever existed in the Underground.  _ Ever _ .” Chara finished with a dramatic, upward flourish of their hands that sent the flowing sleeves of the purple robe flapping about angrily.

The monster hung his head, dejected for a few seconds before he perked back up with an idea. “W-well.. We can still  _ make _ a pie, right? Mom and Green are the best at it, but ours is pretty good too.” His excitement was palpable, and he shot giddy smile at Chara. “It shouldn’t take too long, either. What do you say, F?” He cocked his head to the side to get a bit of the child’s face into view, and F looked up at him with wide, red-rimmed eyes. “You wanna have some fresh pie with us? We can answer all your questions while we cook and eat together.” His smile was contagious, and F found themself smiling back. The child gave him a squeeze of consent.

Asriel hugged them back with a joyous laugh. “See? We’re not failures after all! We can still be excellent Greeters.”

Chara continued walking beside the two with an airy smile, their hands behind their back. “You always were the brains of the outfit, Asriel.”

“Darn tootin’,” he agreed, happily adjusting F against his chest as they made their way Home. 

F barely had a chance to look at each puzzle as the two moved ever onward. It seemed like they had all been there for years and years, and that the two had grown up around them. Some of them seem very simple, like pushing a rock to a button, but some were much more complex. In certain areas, it seemed like the floor was very weak and cracked, but Asriel and Chara both just jumped these parts. 

One room was  _ wall to wall _ cracking floor. F failed to see how the floor existed at all, but there it was. They wondered how the two were going to solve  _ this _ puzzle, and then watch, amazed, as they followed a seemingly well practiced route through the room. F was reminded of the spike puzzle again, and vaguely wondered if this was any safer to cross.

Like the spike puzzle, they wondered how on Earth they would’ve solved this one their own.

Crossing the room, they finally encountered more monsters. 

The first type were fairy like and very shy. Even Asriel’s wave cause them to scatter, but they seemed very curious about F. Asriel didn’t seem all that concerned with their shyness, and Chara introduced them as  _ whimsuns _ . Apparently they were all naturally shy, Chara told F. Nothing to be worried about.

Still, it was weird to see  _ anything _ be nervous around Asriel. F couldn’t even figure out how  _ they’d _ ever been nervous around him, even if he  _ had _ been the first monster they’d ever seen.

The other type of monster they ran into were called Froggits, and they were very frog like, unsurprisingly. Chara gave a couple nice compliments as they passed, and they all ribbited in return.

“They’re talking about you.” Asriel explained as they walked. “It takes a while to get used to hearing the words under the ribbits.”

“Me?” F asked, suddenly feeling very self-conscious.

“Yeah. It’s not every day a human falls into the Underground.” Asriel smiled at them, almost as if he was proud. F didn’t feel like he should be proud. “The last human fell in a year ago, and she’s a bit loud and rude. Not to say she’s a bad person or anything, she’s just...hard to swallow.”

“You said...Yellow and Cyan?” F asked, thinking back.

“Mm, yeah but...” Asriel glanced over at his sibling, who was still giving out compliments. It seemed like that was a common thing for Chara to do, since the Froggits all seemed focused on them. “That’s really part of the explanation. We’ll get to that.”

F nodded, looking around with wide and curious eyes. 

They finally came to a leaf covered walkway, the Froggits all but gone now. Asriel walked with a slight skip in his step, and Chara was humming goodnaturedly. They entered a yard, with a big tree sitting in the middle with bright red leaves fluttering around.

In front of them was a small, but cute and tidy, house. 

“Welcome to our home, kid.” Chara said, sweeping an arm out dramatically. 

F started to squirm, so Asriel carefully put them down. They grabbed onto his hand though, feeling very oddly self conscious. 

Something had clicked in their head, some string of thoughts. They felt uncomfortable and uneasy, which was made doubly so considering how much they already liked Asriel and Chara. How much they already like  _ everything _ .

Chara had mentioned that the Underground was going to be their new home. And then Asriel had, saying something like  _ can we keep this one? _ And, of course, there was the fact that once someone climbed Mt. Ebott, they never returned.

F realized that, somehow... someway... they were stuck here. Chara hadn’t been kidding, this  _ was _ their new home now.

Their mind instantly leapt to a  _ no _ . To a  _ find a way out _ type response. They  _ couldn’t _ be stuck here! They felt claustrophobic and cramped up, like they were in a small box rather than the spacious caverns. 

They tried to breathe. To just let it all...wash over them. The last thing they needed was to freak out. They called upon one of their few memories, remembering how they had stood on the edge of that hole. They could remember  _ looking _ at it.

They still couldn’t remember if they had fallen in, or if they had jumped.

So...maybe this was for the best? They liked Asriel and Chara, after all. And there were other humans here too, and the other monsters had all seemed pretty nice so far. Things didn’t have to be  _ bad _ . They were only thinking they might be because they didn’t like being told they  _ couldn’t _ do something.

They could handle this. They squeezed Asriel’s hand tightly as the small group crossed the yard to the house.

Chara opened the door for them, stepping inside with a clear sign of relaxation and calming on their face. F felt it a bit too, something about the house made their breathing come a little bit easier, and their heart beat slower. The whole house smelled strongly of cinnamon, and there were pots full of golden flowers on seemingly every possible surface.

F’s eyes darted around, taking in the small front room and the adjoining living room. A large staircase was before them, the stairs going down into some kind of basement, and to their right was a short hall of rooms. 

Asriel pulled them to the left, leading into the living room. Inside, seated at an abnormally large reading chair, was another goat-type monster.

They looked much more feminine than Asriel did, with shorter horns and a long but casual purple dress. Their fur was bright white, and their eyes, though red, were faded with age. They looked up when the three entered, and a big smile bloomed on their face.

“Oh! What a surprise!” They declared. They slowly stood, using the armrest as a handhold. F was reminded of grandmothers, though not of anyone in particular unfortunately.

“Mom!” Asriel said, astonished. “I thought you and Dad were in Hotland.”

“Your father still is, dear.” The woman said, stepping forward to hug her two children. Asriel dropped F’s hands for the hug, but he offered it again when she released him. She turned her gaze on F, looking so legitimately happy and excited that they had to blush. “Hello, child. My name is Toriel.”

They knew the name, their mind instantly leaping to the lever puzzle way back in the beginning of the Ruins.

Toriel had the same aura as Asriel - she exuded calm, gentleness, and comfort without effort. Now accustomed to Asriel’s features, F immediately found theirself comfortable around her. 

“Mom, this is F.” Chara said, introducing them. Toriel blinked, looking shocked.

“F?” She asked her child, clearly confused. F felt all the more self conscious about it, wondering why they were still going with that. It seemed lame to go by just a  _ letter _ .

Chara waved a hand. “We’ll explain later,”

The three all turned and looked back at them suddenly. F blinked quickly, suddenly aware that they now had the floor. Shoot, what were they suppose to  _ do _ ? What did they  _ say _ ?

“Hello,” they said in a soft voice that still, embarrassingly enough, sounded a bit raspy from the crying. Shifting a bit awkwardly on their feet under the caring eyes of the three, F felt the need to offer some other form of greeting.

Without thinking about it, they extended a laughably small hand up for the grandmotherly monster to shake. Their eyes rose up to meet Toriel’s, even if they were still a bit unsure about their whole situation. They wanted to make a good impression on the… monsters?

In an almost impossibly formal motion, Toriel bent forward and completely engulfed the child’s hand in her furry paw. Her entire face seemed to glow at the contact. “It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Underground, dear child.”

Chara’s barely contained giggling broke the solidarity of the scene, but they made an attempt to stifle it some under a hand when Asriel gave them a perplexed look.

Confused and a bit flustered, F retracted their hand at the nonsense. They wrenched their eyes from Toriel’s and scrunched their nose up at Chara instead, wearing a bewildered frown. What had they done wrong? Were handshakes taboo down here or something?

“F looks… you look.... like Wee Dee at Festival,” Chara finally managed, and at that, the two siblings broke down into a chorus of undignified, chortling snorts. At Asriel’s gasping “ _ Oh jeez they do _ ,” F only found themself growing more dumbfounded.

“Children, you are making our new guest feel awkward.” Toriel’s voice took on a surprisingly stern tone, and her somber eyes caught each of theirs in turn. The laughter almost immediately stopped, ending with both monster and human sharing the very same repentant expression despite the expansively different features between them.

“Uh, well… sorry, F,” Asriel apologized. “You’re just not used to how things work around here, yet. It’s… your handshake just reminded us of someone we know.”

“Weedy?” F supplied helpfully, some curiosity on their features. Chara’s face threatened to contort into laughter once again at the name, but they managed to choke it back the second time.

Chara was obviously struggling to keep it together despite an errant look Toriel flung their way. “Yeah. Weedy. He uh. He’s a... family friend. Very… formal. The enemy of fun.” Chara couldn’t help it. They cracked a huge grin, and Asriel reflexively mirrored it. “Don’t worry, you’ll meet him.” There was a spark of mischief already twinkling in the older human’s eyes. “But ah… heh. Not today. Today is for pie, and by the smell of it-”

“Mom beat us to it,” Asriel finished with an exaggerated sniff to punctuate the observation. He released a satisfied sigh on the exhale, and there was a dreamy smile on his face.

Toriel laughed softly and placed a hand on each of her children's shoulders. “There will be enough pie for everyone - it should finish cooling shortly and we can all speak with F over a slice.” She raised an eyebrow at Chara that seemed to convey unspoken volumes between the two. “Perhaps you should show F to their room while Asriel and I set the table.”

F fidgeted with their hands when Chara gave Toriel an understanding nod. What did that mean? “...My room?”

The elderly goat monster placed a guiding hand on Asriel’s shoulder and tossed F a reassuring smile as she guided her son towards the kitchen. “Of course,” said Chara, offering their hand to F. The child hesitated for a split second before taking it.

“What? Did you think we were going to lock you up in a cave somewhere?” At F’s shrug, Chara rolled their eyes and began guiding F down the short hallway to the right of where they’d come in. “Hah. ‘Course not. We’re a  _ proper _ bed and breakfast establishment. Plus… you’ll be living with us for awhile. What with the rules and all.”

“Rules?” F’s curiosity was an overwhelming force. There were so many things they wanted to ask, and now even  _ more _ questions that kept popping into their mind. Those questions were stacking on top of each other like unsteady bricks, just waiting for the chance to topple onto their tongue.

Unfortunately, Chara seemed to ignore how much F practically vibrated as they walked. “Yep, that’s something that will definitely be explained over pie,” the adult said evasively. 

The two of them were now standing in front of a door that had a circle of heart-shaped stickers aligned in the upper section of the wood. F cocked their head up at them. The hearts had personality, and each seemed to have been cut out separately from different colors of paper. Some were jagged - others were neat and tidy. A couple had stains, and one was even taped back together unevenly after having been ripped completely apart. Were they supposed to represent something?

“Here we are, room o' Fallen.” Chara said, making their voice sound grand. They twisted the doorknob, revealing a room that struck a profound chord in the child.

It was lavish almost, very homey and cozy. Everything was bathed in a soft light orange, and all of it was surprisingly free of dust and nearly begging for an occupant. Against the right wall was a wooden bunk bed, each with a pair of dark orange blankets and sheets, and at the foot of it was a small toy box. Next to it was a desk, then a wardrobe, and finally a lamp that seemed to be the source of the color. Just over the top of the shade peeked the rounded edge of a dimly glowing orange crystal. There was plenty of space, and across from the beds was a large bookshelf stuffed full of volumes. Sitting next to it was a nice, albeit small, reading chair. 

The thing that bothered F about it? They couldn't say. Somehow, they never imagined that “their room” would involve something  _ this _ nice.

“So do you want the top bunk or the bottom?” Chara asked, their eyes gleaming with mischief.

“Do you sleep here too?” F asked, curious. They didn’t want to put the adult out.

“Nah, me and Az have our own place.” Chara explained. “We just stay here from time to time. One day, we’ll probably live here.”

“Oh.” F said. They crossed the room and sat down on the bottom bunk.

For a moment or two, silence filled the room. F couldn’t think of anything to say, and it seemed like Chara was waiting for them. They struggled to reign back their thoughts, to say  _ something _ , when Chara finally spoke up.

“How are you feeling?” They asked, sympathy in their eyes.

F pouted. “I didn’t mean to cry.”

Chara chuckled, but they didn’t seem to have their heart in it. “I don’t mean that. Crying’s normal, you’ve been dropped into an impossible situation. How are you feeling now?”

“O...OK I guess?” F mumbled, looking down at their hands. “I...everyone’s so nice here, but it’s...there’s so  _ much _ ? I don’t know.”

“It’ll be OK.” Chara cross the room, sitting next to them. F didn’t bother to look up. “I know it’s a bit overwhelming, but I promise this  _ will _ get better. This place really can grow on you.”

“I guess I can’t leave.” F asked, phrasing the question as a statement and glancing up at the adult.

Chara froze up noticeably for a bare fraction of a second, and the child didn’t miss the motion. “I...we’ll explain more later but...no.” They sighed. “No one can leave the mountain. The Barrier makes that impossible.”

Curiosity spiked through F, but they didn’t want to mess up the grand explanation they kept hearing about. Instead they just kind of huffed to themself, resigned to their fate. 

It could be worse, they kept reminding themself. It could be a  _ lot _ worse.

“Why do you keep calling me F?” They finally asked. “It’s just a letter.”

Chara chuckled. “But it  _ is _ the first letter of your name, right?”

“Right.” They responded confidently. If they didn’t think about it, if they just  _ answered _ , if their instincts just took over, then they knew in their heart it was correct. If they didn’t think too hard about it, then their doubt didn’t get in the way.

“That’s why. The other Fallen? They don’t have their names.” Chara explained. “We were gonna tell you this later, but all the other humans forgot their names. They’re probably going to be thrilled you know even a little piece of yours.”

“Why the...colors?” F asked, frowning. “If they don’t have names?”

“Like Cyan and Yellow?” Chara asked. F nodded, but the other just shook their head. “I know you’re curious, but get settled in a bit first. Everything will be explained in time.”

F furrowed their brow at Chara, annoyed. The adult just laughed at their expression.

“Well come on, Mom and Azzy probably have the table set by now.” Chara said, standing.

That brought up another question. “How...she’s your mom?”

Chara produced a smile nearly overflowing with tenderness. “She and Asgore adopted me when I fell in.” They explained simply. 

“Oh.” F mumbled, looking at their hands. In hindsight, they probably should’ve thought of that. They were shaken out of their reverie quite literally when Chara ruffled their hair in a friendly manner.

“Hey!” F protested, swiping at the offending hand and glared up at the amused grin.

“You’re a good kid,” they said, nodding to themself as they backed off and paced towards the door. Chara’s voice took on a distant note, and F couldn’t see their face from the bed. The adult’s hand was on the door, but it remained unopened. “There’s a lot to take in, but you don’t have to know it all at once. Just know that we’re all here for you, okay? Mom, dad, Asriel… me.” The hesitance Chara displayed towards themself confused F greatly. “You’ll never have to go it alone.”

The handle to the door made a soft ratcheting sound as it was pulled, and the door slid open, letting a strip of yellow-white light in the hallway blend into a soft cream inside the room.

F finally slipped from the bed and followed in Chara’s footsteps. They were met with a smile as the adult held the door open for them. “Ready to get some answers?”

The child felt their determination rise in them, and they nodded once, sharply.

“Good,” Chara replied in their usual light-hearted tone as they followed F out and closed the door behind the two of them. “Because I know  _ I’m _ ready for pie.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! See? We're not dead. Just... you know. Napping. The comments and kudos on this are making the both of us giddy, I'll have you know. Thanks for reading. :>

Apparently, Asriel was also ready for pie, because he hadn’t waited before starting on a slice. Chara made an annoyed noise at the sight of their brother stuffing his face until Toriel passed them their own slice. All was forgiven as soon as the steaming confectionery was in front of them, and they tossed a beaming smile at their mother as they casually pulled out a chair. F joined them a little more hesitantly, and was almost immediately offered a portion of the pie as well. As the child set the stick in their lap, they found that there was something almost ritualistic about the scene that they couldn’t place at first.

It was in the way Toriel’s eyes creased at the sides when she smiled back at the siblings. The subtle angle Asriel cocked his snout at and smiled alongside her at Chara, but with his eyes squeezed shut and mouth full. Chara practically glowed as they expertly twirled their fork with a flourish before cutting deeply into their piece of pie. The few moments of silence were easy and companionable between the others as they bit into the dessert. It ended when Chara glanced up at F’s face for a moment, and then began spinning the story of where they’d found the child in the Ruins with far more grandeur than the child believed it really deserved. They had certainly not flown gracefully over the spike traps, after all.

The odd group was all seated at the table: Toriel and Asriel sitting on one side, Chara sitting at one end, and F sitting at the other. With Chara narrating and the other two listening with the occasional sound of acknowledgement or a nod, F caught themself staring at the glaringly domestic setting. It was… surprisingly normal, they thought, and suddenly their chest tightened with realization.

Of course. They were a family. Why wouldn’t they behave like one?

They cast their gaze downwards, a bit ashamed at having taken this long to figure it out. Unsurprisingly, their eyes fell on the pastry slice. The pie before them smelled strongly of cinnamon, flaky crust baked to a perfect golden brown, and mouthwatering wafts of steam rose from the gooey innards. F enjoyed the smell, but it suddenly dawned on them that they might not like the taste. Honestly, something about taking that first bite was a bit nerve racking.

Which was silly, of course. Who gets nervous over pie?

They used the side of their fork to slice a bite off, eating it carefully. The flavor was beyond the smell, and they felt their face contract into awe as they ate.

It was  _ really _ good. F dove in after that initial pause, much to Toriel’s delight.

“So, F already knew the first letter of their name?” Toriel asked, looking between her own child and the pie-invested, newly fallen one at her table.

Chara nodded, fork in mouth. “I heb a tbeory.”

“Don’t talk with food in your mouth.” Toriel admonished gently. 

Chara gave a mischievous grin before swallowing and putting the fork down atop a crumb-filled, but otherwise empty plate. “I have a theory.” They restated. “But we owe F an explanation first.”

Toriel turned back to the smaller child, looking very much like the picture of kindness. She waited patiently for F to swallow, her old eyes still bright with parental-like concern.

“Are there any specific questions you’d like answered first, child?” She asked. “Or would you like me to explain about monsters?”

F opened then closed their mouth and fidgeted with the stick in their lap. The feel of the smooth bark, while comforting, didn’t much help the chaos in their head; they actually had several questions, all overlapping and getting tangling in their mind. 

“You’d probably be better off explaining it all.” F admitted after a small pause. They were simply unable to choose any one single thing to start with. 

Toriel’s smile widened for a brief moment and she gave a slight nod. “Fair enough.”

She cleared her throat and sat up, reaching up to her neck and gently tugging on a seemingly delicate silver chain that had been hidden in the fur there. The chain led into her blouse, and at the end of the delicate links dangled a crystal unlike anything F had ever laid eyes on.

It was a small thing compared to Toriel’s large hands, no longer or wider than the child’s longest finger. It was carved beautifully, with a seemingly infinite amount of facets, into the shape of a crescent moon. From it radiated a calming, aquatic teal that would have made the child sleepy if they hadn’t been so fixated upon the stone.

They had seen plenty of crystals in the Ruins so far - the things were literally everywhere. Originally, they had assumed they were only used as lights in a place without electricity and hadn’t given it a second thought. Unlike the others, however, this crystal seemed very different. It was much smaller and shined with a softer light, but it was more…  _ alive _ in a way. F could almost  _ feel _ the energy from it as they looked at it, could almost sense that there was power there. They eagerly leaned forward with their hands on the edge of the table for a better look, momentarily forgetting about the three sets of eyes watching them intensely.

“You now know a bit about monsters, but what you may not know is that we are magical creatures.” Toriel explained, her voice taking on the rise and fall of someone who has given this explanation many times before. “We are made of magic, and we can use magic.”

“A long time ago, there was a war.” Toriel continued, and F thought her expression appeared a bit sad at the memory. Her eyes seemed to dim, even. The child’s, however, flickered between the shining crystal moon and Toriel’s face. “A war between humans and monsters. In the end, monsters were sealed down here. The crystals you see are magical, they help us to maintain magic internally.”

“Maintain?” F asked, feeling even that smallest new bit of information start to overwhelm them. They sat back into their chair for a moment to digest that.  _ Magic? _

Toriel nodded in confirmation, seemingly satisfied that F was staying on top of the explanation so far. “Just as humans need food and water to live, monsters need magic in order to survive.” She put the paw not holding up the crystal to her chest. “All living things have magic in them. Plants. Trees. Animals... Even the earth itself. On the surface, such things are very easy to come by. But down here...” Toriel trailed off for a moment. “There’s not a lot of plant life, or life in general. We use these crystals instead to store the magic we need to live.” She let the chain swing slightly in her hand, and the stone sent a hundred fragmented teal pinpoints dancing across the table’s surface.

“There’s magic in that?” F’s voice was quiet and full of wonder.  _ Magic. _ If anyone else had given them an explanation like that, they probably would have written them off as being crazy. However, as the person in question was a literal  _ monster _ ...

In the background, Chara and Asriel were conspiring in a low voice before Asriel cleared his throat loudly enough that everyone - including F - turned to stare at him.

“I would like to give the demonstration,” he announced, sitting washboard straight in his chair. He had his hands folded before him on the edge of the table, and might have actually managed to pull off a regal appearance... if he hadn’t had crumbs in his chin fur and a dab of butterscotch at the corner of his mouth.

Toriel hid her amusement behind the action of tucking her crystal moon back inside her blouse. “Very well,” she acquiesced.

F’s attention remained on Asriel as the younger of the two goat monsters clapped his hands together a tad too loudly before him. “Yes!” His excitement rolled off of him in almost visible waves, causing the child to giggle in anticipation. Chara placed their elbows on the table and rested their chin on their hands as they watched Asriel, a slow smile spreading over their face.

“Ah, okay, so.” He took a deep breath. “Magic should never be used without just reason or cause, as we take from the well of life whenever we cast,” he intoned, trying to instill the same reverence for the ritual into his words that seemed to come to Toriel so easily. He nodded to himself, seeming to think he’d done well enough on the explanation, and then drew his hands apart, facing the palms to the ceiling. They began to glow with a colorless haze that F could see, but also struggle to comprehend.

It was like staring through steam, or looking down a long road on a hot day - you knew it was there, but only because it distorted everything else around it. The world just  _ bent _ , and it existed.

That changed shortly, however, when a multitude of floating flames in a rainbow of colors began to burn into life and drift between his hands with bright intensity. F clutched their stick fiercely as they stared. Blues and yellows and reds and greens... So many different shades of each color swirled around in the flames, in fact, that F couldn’t pick out a shade of any particular one that they liked best. They scooted their chair closer to Asriel so they could see better, and when they leaned in close, they could see shapes of something moving about within the fire. As they bathed in the swathe of flickering colors, they could also feel the heat of the flames on their cheeks, but the sensation was far from unpleasant.

“Careful dear,” cautioned Toriel in a soft voice, as Asriel seemed to be focusing his entire being on the effort of making the display. “A monster’s magic may not be dangerous to themself, but it is for any others who might get caught up in it.”

“Hun, fireworks. Very clever, Azzy-” Chara’s dry comment died in their throat as they noticed what F had been squinting at: the shapes were steadily becoming clearer. They had figures.

Humans. There were humans in the heart of the flames. Different humans for different colors. For a moment, the back of their mind itched. It all had an odd ring of familiarity to F, despite the only human they’d met yet was Chara. This was puzzling, but they couldn’t wrench their eyes away from the dazzling display long enough to make the connection.

There was an air of happiness about the images that connected them - the easy, flowing way the figures moved and smiled brought a smile to F’s face. Inside shades of forest green, an emerald, paunchy figure with a heart-etched apron and a frying pan flipped pancakes onto a plate in his opposite hand while laughing. A lavender human looked up with huge, bright goggles as they read stories to a group of clustered, oddly-shaped violet children. Azure flickers comprised a lithe female with dual tresses like flowing ribbons as she spun artfully through a sea of navy flowers. A lass in daffodil yellow with an oversized cowboy hat and flowing scarf was yelling in glee while she and a small army of monsters flung snowballs through the air towards an equally large group of darker sunflower monsters. A brightly burning man in pumpkin orange boxing gloves sparred animatedly with a ripped, grinning lady monster represented in bronze. Two sky blue children walked hand in hand with a gently smiling older woman embodied by vivid cyan.

After a time of watching the flames, F noticed that Chara was strangely silent, and upon glancing over, noticed that their hands had disappeared down below the table as the older human stared, enraptured by the display. Their focus was on the ruby red flame that danced amidst the others. Inside was a pink child with a huge smile and their hands held wide for a hug. A small monster that F hadn’t seen yet wrapped itself up in the child’s arms, and the two of them twirled each other around in slow motion within the fire.

“Azzy, you doof,” grumbled Chara quietly, enough that if F hadn’t been intent on them, the child surely wouldn’t have heard. Despite the softness of the words, their voice was a bit more coarse than it had been previously. “Of course you would.” Behind his mask of intense concentration, F thought they saw the corners of Asriel’s mouth twitch towards a smile.

The three of them sat enraptured for a while longer before the magical fire began to dim, and then it faded altogether. He had held it for a good three minutes, but F was still disappointed to see it go. Their expression didn’t lose that sense of wonder, however. They were sure the grin on their face wasn’t ever going to leave. Magic!  _ Real _ magic!

That seemed to be the reaction Asriel was looking for, as he beamed despite slumping backwards into his chair. Chara, unbidden, left their seat just to bend down and wrap their arms around their brother’s neck.

“Hug me, you big dummy,” they grumbled into his fur, hiding their face from everyone’s view. Asriel obliged, and the child watched for a moment before averting their eyes. Something about the embrace made F think that they were invading something extremely intimate by staring.

Toriel, on the other hand, was unabashedly watching the two siblings with an expression that could only have been maternal pride and affection. Warmth suffused her eyes, and her hands clasped themselves just below her collarbone. 

F didn’t know what to do, what to say. They were very aware that they were the stranger in this house, but it wasn’t like they could excuse themself. They sat there awkwardly for a moment, looking between the siblings and Toriel. 

Toriel seemed to sense their awkwardness. She turned toward them fully after a moment, leaving the other two in their embrace. F wasn’t completely sure, but the longer Chara had their arms wrapped around Asriel the more…  _ aware _ he seemed to be. Less exhausted.

“Magic.” Toriel said, smiling gently. “We can do incredible things with it, but we’re not limitless. We need magic to survive, so doing things like that with magic takes a bit of our own life force.”

“Does it hurt?” F asked, concerned. As amazing as the fire had been, they didn’t want Asriel to be in pain just to give them a demonstration.

“No, no, just tiring.” Toriel said, waving her hand like it was no big deal. “We can give each other magic as well. This is what Chara is doing now.”

F glanced back at the siblings, revealing that Chara was still draped over their brother. Asriel looked much more alert than before, with less droop to his ears and more cheer in his smile.

“Humans can give monsters magic?” They asked with surprise. That meant...

“Um...” For once, Toriel actually looked at a loss to explain. She looked back at her children, then back at the newly fallen child. “Most of the humans can’t. Chara’s a bit a of a special case.”

_ Special case _ . Huh. “Is that why Chara doesn’t have a color name?” F asked.

Chara nodded, their face still buried in Asriel's fur. They readjusted themself, keeping one arm draped over their brother but turning to look back across the table.

“Um… yeah.” Chara mumbled, still clearly distracted. With a little effort, they managed to bring themself back to the present. “Yeah, no I’m different from the other humans.”

F blinked, waiting patiently. Chara rearranged themself so they were sitting on the armrest, keeping close to the still tired looking monster. Asriel made room for them, sending smiles toward the child to sort of signal that this was normal.

“Do you remember when I mentioned the Barrier?” Chara asked. F nodded slowly. “Humans sealed all of monsters down here with a strong spell. We call it the Barrier now. No one can leave, but humans can enter.

“All the missing humans from the mountain really just fell down in here. We all lost our memories after the fall, like you did.” Chara’s eyes dropped away from F at that point, as if they couldn’t look at them while they talked. The age-lines were back on their face, making their expression somewhat pinched. “Without our memories, we can’t use magic. Or maybe we can’t simply because we can’t remember our names, and there’s some kind of mental block keeping us from connecting with it fully, but that’s beside the point.

“After a long while, I discovered something about myself.” Chara continued, managing to pull their gaze upwards. “I didn’t care for the surface world. All I could really remember about other humans was  _ hate _ .” A shadow, like a cloud over the sun, pulled itself over Chara’s expression for a moment. “I hated living on the surface, for whatever reason. So I said to myself, ‘Well, if I hate it so much, why do I even want those memories back?’ So I asked Asriel to give me a name.”

“I still think I was the wrong person to ask.” Asriel mentioned. 

Chara waved a hand, making a mock annoyed face that made the adult look more like their normal self. The tenseness seemed to drain from Chara’s features, and it seemed as if the two might start up their usual stream of banter again at any moment. “Doesn’t matter. Point is, once I had a new name, I was able to use my magic.”

“So I just have to...” F began with excitement at the mere thought of using magic, but was almost instantly interrupted.

“Kid, I’m the only one who’s been able to do this.” Chara explained with a good-natured chuckle. “Unless you feel like you can give up on your old life entirely, you won't be able to do what I did. I wanted a better life, and to get it I had to renounce my old one.”

F frowned, their brows knitting in disappointment. They thought over what the older human had said for a long while, but they couldn’t seem to find it in them to completely renounce their old life. 

They couldn’t remember any details about who they’d been before they climbed the mountain, but they knew they had been  _ someone _ . Someone who had had friends, family, a life. Were they really ready to give it all up, even if they couldn't remember it?

“Not so easy, is it, hun? You have to want it with all your soul; it’s not somethin’ anyone does lightly.” Chara pressed their free hand to their chest. “You gotta be all in agreement in here, and,” they finished by tapping their head with a grin, “in  _ here _ .”

F made a face, which got a chuckle out of Chara. They kept their thoughts on their lost memories, shifting their mind’s eye over everything they  _ could _ remember.

They could vaguely recall a bus, but they couldn’t remember anything about it. They knew they had climbed the mountain, but they couldn’t remember actually doing it. Looking at their arm, they couldn’t even remember why they needed the bandage wrapped there. They couldn’t remember ever getting injured.

They looked at the stick in their lap. They could remember picking it up, holding onto it, could remember every moment they had had it so far down in these caves. The tiny stick they had grabbed out of boredom was the source of more memories than the rest of their life. 

So they had lost a lot, and somewhere deep inside themself they had already decided that they wanted that back. They couldn’t give up on their old life just yet.

F looked up and nodded at Chara. “Yeah… I don’t think I could do that.”

The adult made a face of understanding. “None of the other humans were able to either, so don’t worry. Like I said, I’m a special snowflake.” They gave a nonchalant shrug, as if that explained everything.

“That’s why the other humans use colors for their names.” Asriel jumped in to explain. “Magic comes from the soul, which both humans and monsters have. Humans, however, have much stronger souls. So strong, in fact, that the soul can persist outside the body.”

“Really?” F asked. They didn’t feel strong.

Asriel nodded, seemingly eager to explain. “You humans are really strong compared to monsters, though from what we’ve seen with Chara, the style of magic is very different.”

F didn’t fail to notice that Chara was distancing themself from the conversation again. They were staring down their plate like it had insulted them. F looked back to Asriel, trying to give Chara what privacy they could. 

Asriel continued on, seemingly oblivious to his sibling’s discomfort. “Your souls are especially powerful, and, for whatever reason, each one seems to be a different color. So all the humans here are referred to by the color of their soul.”

F blinked. “Souls have colors?” 

Chara nodded, clearing their throat and sitting up, their eyes back in focus now. They put their hands over their chest, and the same fuzzing F had seen when Asriel had begun to cast wreathed them. The only difference, this time, is that Chara’s magic had some color to it - there was a pale pink shimmer amidst the distortion surrounding their fingers. When they drew their hands outwards, from their chest came a bright,  _ bright _ red glow.

F didn’t know what they expected souls to look like, but when Chara summoned theirs, they realized they had definitely not been expecting the small, bright heart. Even caged protectively behind the other’s cupped hands, they could tell the shape of it - like something you’d draw on the top of a cookie tin. Chara’s soul was a crimson red, like a passionate valentine, and if the twist in their gut was anything to go by, it was also quite powerful. It was a bit like watching Asriel first summon the fire; F was insanely curious and entrapped by the sight.  _ Unlike _ Asriel’s spell, however, something screamed at them as they stared at the heart. It was so wrong and unnatural for souls to be outside the body that F’s own anxiety spiked at the sight.

Chara seemed to also feel that, because they pushed the heart back into their chest a bare few seconds after holding it out. F realized they were clenching their hands together and forced themself to relax. The adult didn’t look much better, honestly. By the set of their shoulders and the way their hands lingered on their chest for a few moments afterwards suggested that the experience had been distinctly uncomfortable.

“See?” Chara said, forcing a smile as they draped themself back over Asriel. “Mine’s bright red, but I’m the only one like that. There’s six other humans down here, each with a different color.”

F blinked suddenly. Where else had they seen colored hearts? It had been very recent...

Oh, right! The door to the bedroom. The “Room O’Fallen” as Chara had put it. So all the humans must’ve crafted those hearts when they... lived in this house. Huh.

“So… Cyan, Yellow...” F said, straining their memory.

Chara nodded confirmation. “And then there’s Orange, Purple, Blue, and Green. You’ll get to meet them later on, if you’re feeling up for it.”

The names and colors meant nothing to F. Instead, they suddenly found the whole thing fascinating.

“What color is my soul?” They asked, their wonder swinging back in full. They put their hands to their chest like Chara had done and screwed their eyes partially shut. The sheer intensity of their concentration elicited a few amused snorts from the sibling pair.

Toriel chuckled as well this time. “You might want to hold off on checking for a while, dear child.”

“Aww.” F pouted and opened their eyes. “Why?”

“If you can’t use magic on your own, then you can’t pull your soul out on your own,” Chara explained with a lazy smirk. “One of us would have to summon it.”

“So?” F’s frustration was palpable as they dropped their hands back to the stick in their lap.

Chara’s smirk faltered. “It’s very, eh... uncomfortable.”

“OK,  _ so _ ?” F whined, not the least bit deterred. “I’m curious!”

Chara chuckled, shaking their head at F’s eagerness. “Kid, I recommend you rest for a bit. Get used to magic first,  _ then _ we’ll check. Besides, we already got something to call you by.”

_ Yeah, a letter _ , F wanted to say, but decided not to. It seemed mean.

“Ah… OK, I guess.” F said, their voice much softer now they weren’t vibrating with excitement.

Toriel reached over and placed a gentle hand on F’s shoulder in a comforting gesture. The child looked up at her. “Souls are very personal things, dear child - it is all of who we are. If you are not prepared, it can be dangerous to remove. And I believe you have some questions for us first, do you not?”

The child nodded slowly despite their lingering disappointment, and their brows furrowed as they tried to separate out what things they  _ really _ wanted to know from the things they were only sort of curious about.

“You all mentioned… rules?” They began, steeling themself. If they couldn’t leave, if they were stuck here... then they needed to get acquainted to what was and wasn’t allowed. Which wasn’t going to be a  _ fun _ topic, but F felt like it was necessary.

Toriel seemed a bit surprised by their choice of first question. She looked back to her children, but while Asriel seemed equally surprised Chara was not. Chara seemed to understand.

“Yeah, there’s some rules.” The adult human responded. “Nothing out of reason, of course.”

Chara rubbed their brother’s shoulder for a second, then looked back at F. “The first rule is to  _ think _ before you act. Humans are a lot stronger than monsters, like we mentioned. You may not believe you are, because you probably don’t feel that strong yourself. But compared to a monster child? Compared to another monster in general? You don’t realize it, but you’re going to have to be a bit more careful in how you interact with people.”

F felt themself pale a little at the thought. They most certainly  _ did not _ want to hurt anyone. The thought that they actually could do so, completely on accident, almost appalled them. In fact, it all but scared them.

“We’re not going to crumble into dust the second you touch us, though!” Asriel interjected quickly at the horrified look on F’s face. “It’s just… ah…”

“It’s about the intent,” Chara cut Asriel off, training those vivid red eyes on the child and holding their gaze. Chara’s expression was one of complete seriousness - and F imagined it was almost… threatening? “If you  _ intend _ to hurt someone, even for a brief moment out of anger, and you follow through with it… you could do some serious damage down here. So don’t.” Chara finally broke out of the intense stare with a begrudging nod, seemingly satisfied with whatever they read in the child’s expression.

“S-so there’s a few other rules,” Asriel said, only allowing the silence for a bare couple of seconds before veering them back on track. He seemed almost as unsettled by Chara’s sudden seriousness as F was. “Like, for the first week or so you’re going to stay here, either with Mom and Dad or me and Chara. It’s mostly so you can get used to how things work down here.” He gave F a smile. “We get to teach you everything!”

F nodded slowly. They had figured as much considering they already had their own room, though it was a bit nice to know that there was an official reason for it and that it wasn’t just Asriel making good on his promise to “keep” them. 

“Another rule is to keep within our sights at all times when we go out.” Chara added. “We don’t mean to be overbearing, but this is for your sake as well as everyone else's, and not just because of the strength thing. Humans don't fall down here all the time, and there are some people here who might… make assumptions.” Based off the slight way Chara’s nose wrinkled, they likely had a couple of individuals in mind.

“But I thought the humans down here were...?” F offered meekly, still a bit put off from Chara’s earlier vehemence.

The two siblings were silent for a few seconds, and this time the younger goat monster didn’t intervene. But while Asriel merely looked uncomfortable,  _ Chara’s _ expression betrayed obvious guilt that they were trying to cover up. Luckily enough for the both of them, Toriel took advantage of their collective hesitance to answer.

“While it is true that the humans who have fallen are members of our society, there are those down here who have not forgotten the war, and they have no one else to blame.” Her voice was quieter than before, reflecting a certain somberness. F got the feeling she wasn’t proud of this side of monsterkind. “While most of us will welcome you with love and kindness, dear child, some monsters are not entirely comfortable with humans despite the many years we have had them amongst us.” 

There was actual sadness in the elderly goat monster’s eyes now. She continued on, looking at them almost apologetically. “When they see a human, they do not see a scared child, but instead someone who has taken away everything they had known. If they see a human - any human - they do not recognize wandering around by themselves, they become fearful.”

“We’ve changed a lot of their minds, though!” Asriel finally chimed in, now seemingly desperate to lighten the mood. “Everyone loves our humans! I mean, we have all sorts of events that get everyone together, and we have a lot of fun, like Green’s bake sales and Purple’s library sleep-overs and even Yellow organizes sports rallies-”

“Azzy, breathe,” Chara chuckled good-naturedly and gave his neck a squeeze that made him squeak. “I know you love the humans, and many others do too.” Chara turned their eyes to F again, but the easygoing lay of their facial features had returned, giving the child no hint as to what they were thinking. “But there’ll always be a few who don’t trust us, and we just have to live with that. You can’t force  _ everyone _ to love us. It doesn’t work like that, heh.”

“They just don’t get it. Humans are so cool.” Asriel puffed out his cheeks a ways and turned his snout to the side in a show of comical frustration. From the way he crossed his arms and had no issues sitting up in his chair, F figured he was feeling rejuvenated from his earlier magic casting.

“Eh, I guess we’re not  _ all _ bad. Right F?” An easy smile spread across Chara’s face that F reciprocated with a small one of their own. “Anywho. This last rule is very important. The most important one, in fact.” They looked from one side of the room to the other, as if they were scanning for threats. F felt uneasy for a moment before they caught the other’s smile breaking out into Chara’s familiar, impish grin. “If mom makes cookies, you have to hide them from Asriel before he eats them all.”

“WHAT?” The offended squawk he produced prompted F to burst into laughter, and a fit of giggles erupted from Toriel as well, despite her attempt to hide them behind one hand. Asriel shoved Chara off of him with a well-placed paw on the other’s face. It sent them toppling to the floor, and suddenly the whole room was filled with the sound of the three reveling in the younger monster’s indignant expression. Chara seemed incapable of getting up. Instead, they just laid on their back wheezing. From the volume of their laughter, the carpet had either absorbed the tumble, or else Chara just didn’t care.

“Ugh!” Despite doing his best to look annoyed about the whole situation, Asriel didn’t seem to feel it necessary to remove Chara from where they had perched their legs on his chair’s armrest.

“You’re not denying it,” his sibling replied in an aggravatingly sing-song tone. “It’s okay. We all know that you and food share a secret love that no monster can come between.  _ Doughnut _ worry, dearest brother,” Chara drawled, rolling their head side to side into the carpet. Toriel was finding it increasingly difficult to contain her laughter. “Your heated  _ loaf _ of pastries is safe with us.”

“Oh my stars, shut uuuuuup,” Asriel whined, covering his face with both of his hands and lying flat on the table next to his empty plate. His normally white nose, F noticed, had turned a distinct shade of  _ pink. _ They found it adorable. 

Chara managed to detangle themself from the chair and sit up. They didn’t bother to raise from the ground, though; in fact they seemed like they were too breathless to get that far. Asriel didn’t pick up his head, but he was giggling now.

“That was so baaaad.” He whined to the table. “I thought this was a serious moment.”

Chara looked dead at F and wiggled their eyebrows. “ _ Baaaaa _ -d, did you say?” They bleated out that first syllable like a goat, which set F off again. They were certain they were going to pass out from laughing at this point.

Oddly enough, it seemed like the pun was especially funny to Toriel, who had lost all traces of regality. F could now just see her as a old woman who liked bad jokes.

It made them feel funny, but in a good way. They weren’t certain where the feeling came from, but they didn’t think too hard on it.

After a long moment, the group all managed to settle down. Toriel wiped her eyes, keeping the traces of giggling tucked behind a hand. She looked to them, mirth still written all over her face, and smiled. She seemed content, like this was the best possible welcoming she could have imagined.

“Would you like another slice of pie before bed, dear?” She asked.

“Bed?!” F asked, sounding much louder and whinier than they had intended. Something about the joking attitude had made them want to sound dramatic. 

Toriel took it in stride, chuckling at their loud voice. “Yes, dear.  _ Bed _ . It has grown late, and there is quite a bit that we will need to do tomorrow.”

F found, to their surprise, that they  _ did _ actually feel tired. They fiddled with the stick on their lap a bit, rolling it around on their knees.

“Um… yeah, sure then.” They said. They were then quick to add a “Please.”

Toriel didn’t seem to mind the slip in manners, merely smiling and taking their plate before standing. Chara and Asriel were still giggling to themselves, so Toriel nudged her floor-bound human child with a foot.

“Would you two like seconds?” She asked, as if the twos’ positioning was completely normal. F figured it probably was, considering their repeated theatrics.

“Please.” Chara said with a faked gasp, gesturing towards their plate and still refusing to get off the carpeting. They lifted a hand to their forehead, as if they were swooning.

“Please.” Asriel also said, picking up his head and his plate. He rolled his eyes at his sibling, thanking Toriel for the pie again. She gracefully glided back off to what was presumably the kitchen. 

“Chara, get up.” Asriel said, trying for a serious face and not meeting it at all.

“Mmmmmno.” Chara replied, as if thinking over something unusually complex. 

Asriel glared at his sibling for a moment, then sighed in defeat and offered up his hand. Chara took it and he pulled them to their feet, the human grinning hugely in their apparent victory.   
F was smiling at their antics, but the notion of bed had them yawning. They struggled to keep it under wraps, not wanting to miss another slice of pie. Luckily, Toriel was quick to deliver. 

F dove into their second slice eagerly, no hesitance in them this time. They ate together in peace, and this time F didn’t notice any brooding silence, or awkward tension, or… any feelings that weren’t concerned with happiness and Toriel’s amazing pie. What had changed?

F tossed a quick glance up at the three between bites. Asriel’s nose was still making a steady return to its usual white, and Chara hadn’t stopped smiling. Toriel’s expression had settled into one of calm satisfaction over the soothing sounds of clinking silverware.

They felt welcomed, the child slowly realized as they chewed. These three - this  _ family _ \- had nothing but love for them, and the child felt their uncertainty bleed away in the face of it. Whatever the future might hold, no matter how huge or scary, they wouldn’t have to face it by themselves… just like Chara had told them. The Underground didn’t seem so daunting now with these new, wonderful friends. F felt like they could handle anything.

For several long minutes the odd group just ate, the rest of the world long behind them and forgotten. F began to get sleepier and sleepier, finding it all the easier to be relaxed around the family. 

Asriel finished his plate first, but Chara was not far behind. The two nudged each other playfully, then Asriel yawned. And he yawned  _ big _ . F couldn't help their own yawn in response, and even Chara looked like they were struggling to hold one back. 

“I think it's time for the Prince to go to sleep then.” Chara said, tousling their brother’s hair, the goat monster being short enough while sitting that they could reach. Asriel just grumbled in response. “Do you want us to crash here or...?”

“No, no, do go back to your own house,” Toriel said with a wave of her hand. “F and I can put ourselves to bed, and we can decide what we shall do for the future tomorrow.” The kindly woman turned and smiled at them, making F smile in return. 

Chara nodded. “We'll check in with Cyan on our way and let her know what's going on. I  _ may  _ have ditched her earlier today.”

Toriel gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. “Well, I am certain she will understand. Now off you go you two.”

Asriel smiled meekly at his mother and stood. F hadn’t bothered to get up themself, but that quickly changed when both walked around to offer them hugs. Only partially surprised, F scrambled to stand and allowed the two to all but engulf them. Once all the goodbyes were said, the two walked back into the living room, F standing in the archway between the two rooms. Oddly enough, instead of leaving through the front door, the two descended down the stairs towards what the child originally had thought was a basement. F leaned over the banister and watched as they steadily climbed out of view. They wondered where the passage lead, and why there was one like this cutting through the house. 

Toriel, meanwhile, casually picked up their plate again and walked the dishes back to the probably-a-kitchen room. F stood there for a moment, realizing they now had a few more unanswered questions to ask. 

A lot would probably be explained in the following day as well, as F was introduced to magic more thoroughly (or so they hoped). Maybe if they asked they could probably meet the other humans as well. But some things just seemed to tingle on their scalp like an itch, demanding answers.

So that’s why, when Toriel came back, F just looked at her and asked it. “Why did Chara call Asriel 'the Prince’?”

Toriel paused for a moment with a blink, seemingly surprised at their sudden question, then just smiled. 

“To be quite truthful, he is one,” she explained with an almost comically nonchalant air. “Asgore, his father, is the king of all monsters. I am the queen.”

F paled at the thought of having  _ literally  _ dined with royalty, but despite their shock a lot started to make sense. Specifically in the way Toriel carried herself and the commanding, sure ways in which Chara spoke. It also lingered in the way Asriel radiated confidence… even though F couldn't see the fluffball being in charge of anything.  _ Chara  _ on the other hand...

“Do not worry overmuch about it.” Toriel continued, breaking F’s train of thought.. “We are probably much different from the governments you are used to. Just consider us as you would anyone else.” 

She checked her wall clock and made a small, disapproving  _ tsk _ noise. “Now it is  _ long _ past bedtime.”

F chuckled. It still seemed surprising to them that the kind monster would impose a bedtime, after all the sudden changes. That said, they didn't want to disappoint Toriel, queen or not, so they followed in her footsteps right down the hall. The child only took a bare few steps, however, before they paused and turned back around.

Toriel seemed curious as to why they turned back to the living room, but waited patiently in place while F retrieved their stick from the table. They clutched it tightly in their left fist, a bit upset at having forgotten about it for even those short few minutes. For some reason, they seemed very uneasy with the idea of parting with it for too long. Toriel’s eyes shone with silent understanding at the delay, and seemed to decide against asking about it.

Toriel’s room was the middle one in the hall, the first stop for the two, so F wasn’t surprised when she stopped at the door. They were about to continue onward to the other bedroom when Toriel cleared her throat. 

“Um… if you...” she began, fidgeting with her hands and robe for a moment and adopting a concerned expression. “If you have trouble sleeping, or nightmares, do not hesitate to come and wake me. The others occasionally had some sleeping problems within their first couple of weeks, and there is no shame in seeking help for that.”

F smiled, failing to see how they'd have a bad night after such an amazing day. “Thanks, but I'll be fine,” they responded confidently. 

Toriel smiled in return. “My offer still stands. I may be old, but I am still a mother, and I still worry.”

F just gave Toriel a reassuring goodnight wave, and opened the door to their room. Once the door was closed, they looked over the orange inner sanctum for the second time that night. It still seemed too nice to their eyes, even though they knew nothing else, but they could live with it.  

They yawned and stretched out, putting the stick down on the bottom bunk before looking down at themself. They hadn’t paid any attention to their clothes until now, mostly because they had simply already been used to them. Now that they were looking, they found a couple of details in the things they wore. 

They were wearing hiking boots. Surprisingly nice ones, too, though the treads were a bit worn down. F sat down on the bottom bunk and unlaced them, pulling them off to reveal very soft, calf-high socks. It seemed like they had come prepared for the hike, so even though they must have been walking for hours, their feet weren’t the least bit sore. Tugging their socks off as well, F wiggled their toes experimentally. There was a wash of satisfaction at the cool air on their feet, but they couldn’t sense any strain in the tendons. 

They tucked the socks into the boots and pulled off the sweater. Under it was a tie-dyed tank top, with sleeves roughly as thick as three fingers. Their jeans felt new, but the black leather belt was  _ very _ old and cracking. F dug into their pockets, but to their disappointment, their questing hands just met air.

They picked at the bandage wrapped on their arm, wondering if it’d be a good idea to remove it. They kind of wanted to see the wound it was covering, but they didn’t know anything about it. For all they knew, removing the bandage now meant getting blood everywhere. They were going to have to have one of the adults take a look at their arm later. 

F grabbed their stick and carefully put it in their boot. It stuck up a bit silly, but they were too tired now to giggle much. They yawned again, then stretched out on the bed. After a moment of lying down, they worked up the nerve to untuck the blankets and slide under them.

Now extremely comfortable, F embraced the soft wash of light and the wave of relaxation that swept over them as they closed their eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyy we're Not Dead :D sorry about the kind of late update, other stuff kind of hit both of us. Mostly IRL stuff. Sorry this took eighty or so years, but no promises the other updates will come any quicker lol.  
> Huge thanks to people from us both! The comments, kudos, all that really does help and we appreciate it to death!! <333 Seriously tho thank you all so much!

_ Dreams have a funny way of making sense while you’re having them, but not making any sense at all in the actual world. So, while they were dreaming, F didn’t question how fuzzy everything was, or how they couldn’t quite see anyone’s face, or how they seemed to be three inches shorter than normal. _

_ Instead they just tossed in bed, the dream captivating them. _

_ They were in a kitchen of some kind, and someone was humming. It was a woman with a full, ankle length dress and apron. She wore a blouse over the dress, the shirt open but the ends tied together at her belly, the apron tied under. She was moving from counter to counter, her hands ever busy and her voice sweet. She all but danced as she moved, F watching her intently. Something about her movements made them extremely happy, but they couldn’t say what or why. _

_ Someone else was in the kitchen, but F paid them little attention. They wore a suit, and talked a lot, but F didn’t listen. They followed the humming woman through the kitchen instead, keeping close to her side. _

_ “Child, a spoon?” The woman sang. _

_ “Are you listening?” The suit asked. _

_ “Of course not.” She responded, then continued humming. F opened a drawer and grabbed a spoon, handing it to her. _

_ Her belly was at their eye level, and they didn’t seem to have any need to look any higher. Some part of their mind wanted to know, wanted to see her face, but they couldn’t be bothered to listen to that part. They stared at her apron instead, with questioning fingers sneakily inching towards the pocket. She kept pieces of candy there, and F really wanted one.  _

_ The woman giggled when she caught their hand, pulling them into a hug instead. _

_ “After dinner, dear...” She said, rubbing their head. They were disappointed, frowning into her side. _

_ “Are you listening?” The suit asked again, voice full of aggravation.  _

_ “Of course not.” She answered again, the dream on loop. _

_ The counters blurred, none of the details coming through for F. Nothing smelled of anything, though they knew she was making something. F looked at the fuzzy stove, staring at the pot but too short to see in. They wanted to know, but they couldn’t see over the brim from where they stood and knew better than to try to creep close and peer in. The woman wouldn’t like that, as she was constantly fussing over them. Still, they had a burning curiosity. Something about the woman cooking was thrilling, and they were excited for what she was making. _

_ “I will not listen until there is good news.” The woman said in response to something the suit had rambled out while they’d been distracted. F could more sense than see her turn to them. “Basil, dear?”  _

_ “You need to think about...” The suit began, but F tuned them out. They gave the woman a smart nod and darted to the kitchen door. _

_ They stepped outside, but not into a backyard. The dream had changed on them, though it wasn’t at all confusing while they were still asleep. A new weight was one them now, a physical one on their back. _

_ F ran a hand over the strap of their school bag, a debate flashing too quickly through their mind to comprehend. They were walking to the direction of a small brick building, but they didn’t want to be. They paused in their steps, tapping the toe of their boot to the cement. _

_ If they just… left…  _

_ F dropped the backpack at the base of a nearby tree. Extra weight would only hinder their progress. They started walking… their steps loud and uncertain… their destination… _

F woke up with a gasp. They didn’t know why, not entirely, but they were crying. How long had they been doing that? Wetness had seeped into their pillow, making it uncomfortable and their face sticky.

They sat up and scrubbed at their cheeks with the back of their hand. A wave of confusion crashed over them as they took in the soft orange of the alien room, but their dumfounded expression was pinched with exhaustion. As they sat up in bed, they couldn’t help the fresh wave of tears pouring out of their eyes. They cried for a solid few minutes, unable to hold it back.

They didn’t have the faintest clue why they were suddenly so sad. Their emotions had all come pouring out through their eyes, but they didn’t understand any of them. Their dream had just run rampant through their soul, dragging shattered splinters of feeling to the surface and almost choking them on it all.

They didn’t know who anyone in their dream had been. Aprons with candies? Cooking? A person in a suit they didn’t listen to? There wasn’t enough information there for them to have an emotional reaction, but that hadn’t appeared to stop them.

It took F several minutes to calm down; to breathe and collect themself. Their nose was a mess, and it felt very raw from wiping it on their arms repeatedly. They had only barely managed to avoid getting the bedspread messy, but they pushed the pillow onto the floor to be safe. As soon as they felt comfortable enough to move without crying again, F slid their legs out from under the blanket. 

They walked barefoot to the bedroom door, cracking it open a bit. The house was dark, the crystals seemingly dimmed when the house owners went to bed, so presumably Toriel was still asleep. F crossed to the other side of the hall and entered the bathroom.

The bathroom here was much different than they might’ve expected. There was a sink, a bathtub, a shower, and a linen cupboard, but no toilet. The sight confused them, but they just shrugged in their tired haze and went to the sink. They’d worry about it when they needed it. Or just… pee in the shower.

They ran the water slowly so not to make a lot of noise, and washed off their arms and face as best they could. In their head, F thanked the powers that be for whatever mechanism pumping the water to the house had stable, silent piping. Between sessions of rubbing their face with clean water, they noticed movement in front of them. They stared at it blearily, too disconnected to be startled, and it stared back with red-rimmed, puffy eyes and flushed cheeks. As they scrubbed at their cheek, they eyed their mirrored reflection a bit dispassionately. 

They looked awful. Barely visible dark rings had gathered below their eyes, and their expression was weary and wrung-out, as if they had walked miles upon miles instead of having just slept in a very comfortable bed after being treated to pie. Their shoulders sagged and their chin tilted downwards, weighted by some enigmatic memory that was almost certainly theirs but made a dreadful lack of sense. It looked... aged. 

The realization dredged back a somewhat disconcerting returning thought from yesterday: the idea that they looked a lot like Chara. In a way, they hadn’t been wrong. Their skin was much darker - though under the dim lighting it looked much paler than should be natural - and their hair was brown rather than auburn, but there were still a lot of similarities. That said, looking into their sinking eyes, they couldn’t see any traces of the confident adult in their own features. There was no comparison to that calm and steely intensity under the other’s carefree air. They just looked like a mess. 

They sighed and continued to scrub until all the grime had come off, and then slowly reached over to grab a towel and dried themself. F replaced it on the hanger they’d borrowed it from, folding it neatly and smoothing out the wrinkles. Out of ways to stall in the bathroom, they finally gave up and retreated back to the bedroom.

The pillow was pretty much done for, unfortunately. Their tears had soaked clean through the pillowcase. F carefully pulled the case off of it, stuffing it into the dirty clothes hamper they’d discovered back in the bathroom, then laid the pillow out on the ground next to the toy chest to dry.

F still needed a pillow, so they climbed up to the top bunk and unceremoniously stole that one. They were exhausted at this point, drained emotionally and physically, but when they laid back down they found sleep was eluding them.

Frustrating as it was, and even as tired as they were, they found it was an odd, reluctant fear that kept them from reaching sleep. It was like they had touched something hot and were now scared to go near the stove for fear of getting burned again. F knew it was dumb and that they needed to sleep, but they couldn’t seem to drop their unease.

They remembered Toriel’s offer, but they couldn’t bring themself to get up again. They were too tired to get up, too tired to wake her, and too guilty over potentially making her lose sleep as well after all of the kindness she had already shown. They could handle this on their own.

They didn’t move for hours, but they didn’t go back to sleep either, and so their thoughts strayed back to the dream. The smoky tendrils of the memory whirled in their skull for what seemed to be ages. The kindly woman with the apron. The promise of candies. The aggravated suit...

Time seemed to snake away from them, the hours churning by inch by inch. F was all too aware of their breathing, and of their heartbeat, as they tried again and again to relax and fall asleep. Every so often they’d sniffle, their nose still trying it’s best to ruin them, but as time went on even that faded. Eventually they were left to just lay there, trying to keep as still as possible in the vain hope they’d just pass out. They were  _ really _ tired. 

And it just didn’t happen. They just didn’t fall asleep, no matter how much they tried to.

Eventually, though, they heard the older monster stir. The house seemed to wake up softly, but F had been listening to nothing but quiet for felt like forever and was able to easily hear to subtle changes. The key indicator of Toriel’s presence, however, was when the heady scent of breakfast wafted insistently throughout the house. 

F gave up the pretense of sleep altogether then. They slid back out of bed, yawning and stretching out their tired and aching body. It didn’t help all that much, but they thought that it might more easily let them pretend that they didn’t feel miserable. They pulled the stick out from their boot, but felt much too tired to get dressed completely. They pulled on the sweater as a token attempt, and also to hide the bandage. They weren’t quite ready to show Toriel yet.

Now they just needed to walk around, wake up some. F nodded to themself, figuring they’d probably feel better after they ate something. There was a strip of the brighter hallway light beckoning them from under the crack beneath their door, and it illuminated F’s toes as they padded towards it.

They opened the door quietly, though that was mostly just out of habit at this point. They didn’t bother to shut it as they walked back down the hall towards the living room. The appetizing smell had all but smacked them in the face the second the door’s opening gust of wind hit them, and they were feeling more than a little overeager. They couldn’t quite pinpoint what it  _ was _ … only that it was bound to be good.

They peered into the living room, and heard the scraping of plastic on metal coming from the unknown room that F now was absolutely sure held a kitchen. They creeped around the corner and finally stuck their head into the room filled with the concentrated, mouthwatering smell.

It was, perhaps unsurprisingly so, a kitchen. Go figure.

The room itself was surprisingly bare, making an efficient use of space in such a small area. There was counter on one side of the room with a sink and refrigerator, and a gas stove on the other. Above the counters hung a series of cooking implements: spatulas, padded mitts, and frying pans. F was reminded of their dream, but for only the shortest of moments, as there certainly had not been a tall goat monster present, and she had definitely not been making what looked to be pancakes.

Still grasping the stick in one hand, F rubbed one of their eyes with the other. “‘Morning,” the child mumbled sleepily from the doorway.

Toriel was amidst cooking another pancake as she turned a warm smile on F. To the child’s surprise, she was using her magic and not the stove in order to heat the base of the pan. She was holding it in the air, making it fairly easy to see the conjured fire peeking from behind the rounded edges and glowing steadily with a mix of blues and purples.

“Good morning, dear child.” F could see the wavering haze over her free hand as she cooked. “I was just preparing us some breakfast - do you like blueberry pancakes?”

F could feel the drool begin to pool in their mouth at the thought, and their dramatic nod caused Toriel to chuckle. The child slid over closer to the counters, and saw a short stack of blue-dappled pancakes beckoning atop a plate along the flat surface. The smell from this distance was heavenly, but they forced themself not to touch the food until Toriel was ready.

They distracted themself with the sight of the ingredients and implements also sitting on the counters: freshly washed blueberries, flour, a couple stained measuring cups, sugar, baking soda, a capped container of cooking oil and a few slightly dented measuring spoons. F put their hands on the counter and looked curiously at the mixing bowl that held the remainder of the pancake batter. They felt their restraint weakening. It was close enough to the edge that if they just… reached...

Toriel gently nudged F with her hip as she continued cooking, cocking her head to give them an amused but still admonishing smile. F dropped their questing hand with their lip stuck out in a pout.

The face didn’t seem to affect Toriel at all. Pancake batter would be forever out of their reach. “There will be plenty enough time to eat breakfast  _ after _ it’s been thoroughly prepared, dear child.”

F sighed in disappointment and rocked back on the heels of their feet.

“If you would like to help, you can set the table.” Toriel offered as she placed another pancake onto the growing stack. “All of the cups and plates are in the cupboard, and the utensils are in the drawers.”

The child immediately busied themself to keep their mind off of the tantalizing smell of breakfast. They had to make quite a few trips before the table looked ready, but by that time, Toriel had a steaming plate of pancakes that F was sure would be more than enough for both of them. She also brought a small pitcher of heated, viscous blue syrup with her.

The two sat to the side of each other so that they could both reach the pancakes and the syrup. In a very maternal gesture, Toriel speared the top two pancakes with her fork and expertly placed them in the middle of F’s plate. She smiled and gently nudged the syrup towards them.

“Did you have a pleasant night’s sleep, dear child?” She asked casually, making conversation.

Even though they knew she meant nothing else by it, F wasn’t expecting the question, so their expression betrayed them before they could think of a good answer. It wasn’t that they want to  _ lie _ to Toriel, per se, but they suddenly found themself feeling very embarrassed about their nightmare. They should’ve just gone and woken her, or, at the very least, figured she’d ask such a question.

So before they could think of anything to say, Toriel had placed a gentle paw on their upper arm. 

“Was it bad, dear?” She asked, her expression and voice indicating nothing but genuine compassion and understanding. The child could sense no judgement at all about her person.

F didn’t know what to say to that, and felt a trickle of shame thread its way through them. They opened their mouth and took a breath, rolling their head backwards a bit as they thought. Their eyes dragged over white-yellow crystal on the far wall that was partially shaded by a cone-like brim. It cast interesting highlights on the ceiling that they focused on.

“It… ah… no?” They more so asked than stated. “It was… it wasn’t  _ bad _ it was just very... sad.” They finally admitted, feeling their shoulders slump in defeat. “It was… I didn’t understand any of it, but I was crying when I woke up.”

“Oh dear.” Toriel muttered, rubbing their arm comfortingly. “Do you want to talk about it?” It was an invitation, warm and open, but not pressing.

Honestly, they just wanted to eat breakfast and forget about it, but now Toriel knew they had had the dream, thanks to their hesitance. Besides, ignoring it wouldn’t help them feel better, and it also wouldn’t help them to make any sense of their nightmare, and they very much wanted to have both of those things. So they took another, steadying breath and began to talk.

They forced themself to recall as much of the kitchen that they could remember, taking care to portray the fuzziness and difficulty making out detail. It became easier to speak about it after the first few words were out, and they found themself pouring out all the details of the strange scenario they’d agonized over as sleep had evaded them last night. They described as much the woman who was cooking that they could, and they talked a bit about the suit. They hadn’t paid much attention to that one, though, so they didn’t have much they could share. They recounted everything they could, and Toriel attended their every word. She didn’t comment, or make noises, only continued to slowly rub their arm in support. She was a very good listener, F decided.

“Do you believe this is a memory?” She finally asked after F had been silent for longer than a handful of seconds.

The child shrugged. The thought had certainly crossed their mind, but they didn’t…  _ remember _ enough to know for sure. For all they knew, it was just a random sequence of events, and not a proper memory. 

They doubted they’d be so lucky, anyways.

Silence fell upon the table, and for a moment the only movements were Toriel’s gentle signs of care. For a time, F was leaning heavily against her gentle hand, but eventually their hunger won back their attention. They picked up their fork again and began to eat, slowly breaking the torpor-like spell placed over the two. 

Even if they had cooled some while the two spoke, the pancakes were still the best F had ever had, they were sure. After all, they  _ knew _ what pancakes were, so they must have had some in the past, right? Come to think of it, they’d also known what pie was. They found themself questioning the specifics of their odd amnesia, but stopped when a headache began to set in. F refocused on the food and it dissipated.

Toriel herself ate three pancakes and seemed like she would have been easily able to polish off the rest of the small stack, but F was full after only two. They marveled at her size again, wondering what it would be like to be a large goat monster. It would definitely be awesome, they were sure, but F didn’t know if they were too keen on all the fur.

“You know, child,” Toriel began, turning back towards them. “I really  _ don't _ mind if you come and wake me, but it is also perfectly fine if you would rather not. Just do whatever makes you the most comfortable.”

F felt a bit caught off guard at that statement, their eyes darting up to the concerned grandmotherly expression, and they were suddenly very aware of how afraid they’d actually been for her reaction. They felt color rise in their cheeks, and to distract themself, they dropped their gaze to their plate and played with their fork, making designs in the vestiges of the blueberry syrup.

They didn’t know what else to say, so they answered with a question. “You said all of the other humans had bad dreams, too?” F didn’t look up from their abstract syrup art.

“It was fairly common early on, yes,” Toriel returned evenly. “According to the others, however, the dreams came to them less and less as time went on.”

Well that was… good, right? Certainly it hadn’t been fun to wake up in tears, but… would they get anything else back by having these nightmares? Would their memories return through them? F made a face at the thought. If none of the other humans got their memories back, then the nightmares couldn’t be the key. They’d just have to suffer through them and find a better way to remember everything else later.

Before F could think of anything to add to the conversation, they heard very sudden footsteps on the stairs. Toriel raised her eyebrows, looking up towards the front room as F turned around, hooking an elbow over the back of the chair.

Initially, F figured Asriel was back. The monster climbing the stairs certainly looked a  _ lot  _ like the prince, but it was quickly apparent that this was someone new. For one thing, this monster was much larger, even though they were stooped over a bit as they navigated with a walking cane. They were also much older, and sections of their fur were blonde instead of the pure, bright white Asriel and Toriel both had. 

This new goat monster turned and entered the house proper after the final step, pausing to sigh in relief at finally conquering the stairs. He peered into the dining room and smiled upon seeing F, seemingly unsurprised by their appearance. Now that they were facing F, the child could see even more differences. This new large goat monster had weathered eyes and a placid, mellow crinkle to his muzzle. He also had a beard, which was especially weird considering he was  _ covered _ in fur like the other two goat monsters F had seen; it was just especially thick and draping around his chin. There were a few darker black and grey hairs sprinkled throughout it.

“Good morning, dear.” Toriel said warmly, standing. The two met up at the arch between the room, embracing. F figured this had to be Asriel’s dad, Asgore. 

The King, they realized suddenly. The King of All Monsters. They paled a bit at the thought, feeling suddenly out of place. 

Not that he was dressed very regally. Where Asriel, Chara, and Toriel had been wearing robes, Asgore wore a pair of slacks and a bright pink sweater that, for whatever reason, had “Mr. Dad Guy” stitched across it in darker lavender. The stitching was faded and it had obviously been patched some due to frequent use. It stretched a fair distance around him; F would have gone so far as to call him chubby if monsters worked the same way as humans. His cane was the only elegant thing about him, fashioned of dark oak, tipped with a bright silver head that was styled in a diamond pattern. He leaned on it casually now that he wasn’t on stairs; presumably he just tired easily. F found the sight of the cane saddened them some, though they were fully aware that walking aids were sometimes just necessary.

They decided to stop that train of thought and focus on the situation at hand. They stood up from their chair, feeling anxious and uncertain on how to behave. They clutched the stick in their hands before them, even if they didn’t really use it to shield themselves like they had when they’d first met Chara.

“This must be young F.” Asgore said, the hug breaking apart. Both of the goat monsters turned to them, and the child reacted by scuffing the heel of one foot on the flooring while looking down.

“Hello, your Majesty,” F murmured, their eyes darting up for a moment before returning to their feet. They weren’t sure whether they should bow or try to shake hands again, or…

They froze up as a huge paw settled atop their head and tousled their already-unkempt hair into further disarray. The King’s laugh was a deep one. It was rich and throaty and seemed to come straight from his chest.

“A pleasure to meet you, young one, but Asgore suits me just fine. I met up with my children on the way here, and they seemed quite enamored with you. I can already see why.” He chuckled again and removed his hand from F’s head.

He continued as F relaxed their grip on the stick. “They actually wanted you to meet up with them in Snowdin town today-”

“But it is only their second day here,” protested Toriel with a concerned expression. She had clasped her hands before her robes. “There is still so much they don’t know.”

“So they’ll learn as they go, just like the rest of the fallen,” proffered Asgore. “And you want to see a few new faces… don’t you?” He gave F a conspiratorial wink out of Toriel’s line of sight. 

“Uh… sure.” They responded, trying to fake confidence they didn’t really feel. They were going to go out and meet people…  _ now _ ? They suddenly felt completely unprepared. 

But… they swallowed and told themself sternly that they could do this. They wanted to prove that they were capable, that they could handle anything this place threw their way. 

Besides, more monsters meant more  _ magic. _ Excitement began to swell up in their chest at the thought, and they slowly began to settle into a strong feeling of determination. Yeah, they were going to meet everyone, and see cool things, and impress everyone with their level-headedness. 

“Yeah, actually, that’d be really cool.” F smiled up at Asgore, trying to see him as just another person. It  _ was _ still a bit intense to think they were about to go for a stroll with the  _ King _ , but his warmth made him a lot more approachable. Maybe that was the point of the outfit, even if the sweater was still vaguely confusing.

They could see Toriel peeking around Asgore’s sweater and knitting her eyebrows together with concern. F flashed the largest smile they could manage at her, hoping it was reassuring enough that she wouldn’t prevent the outing.

When she didn’t protest again, Asgore unleashed a dizzying array of teeth in his smile. It was now easy to see where Asriel had gotten them all from.

“Then it’s decided,” he said with a triumphant squaring of his shoulders. “We’ll be out and about as soon as you’re ready.”

“I’ll clean up if you see about getting them something more appropriate to wear for the cold, dear.” Toriel said, and F thought that she sounded a bit resigned.

“Deal,” Asgore replied, turning that huge, sharp smile on Toriel. She rolled her eyes in an exasperated fashion and began picking up the dirty dishes from the table.

That massive hand once again extended towards F, this time encompassing part of their back as Asgore attempted to usher them down the hallway. “I suppose we’ll try to get you suited up for snow. Some old things from the other Fallen should fit you, I think. They always donate back a few items after they outgrow them.” He mused happily as they walked. F easily kept up with the King’s languid pace. “The kids were always very mindful of us.”

They stopped, again, before the Room of Fallen Humans. Asgore nudged them inside and closed the door behind them. He began rummaging through the wardrobe almost immediately.

“You can check the drawers if you like. There might be something you wouldn’t mind wearing over your sweater in there. You’ll also need a thicker pair of socks,” he hummed to himself.

“How cold is it outside?” F asked. They knelt down next to the monster and put their stick on the ground before tugging open a drawer. They found a number of shirts - all with pronounced horizontal stripes, oddly enough - and several pairs of downy, fleece pants of different shades of black and brown.

“As cold as it usually is,” Asgore replied as he pulled out a zippered jacket with more stripes. He fingered the sleeve between a thumb and forefinger. “Which is to say we’re not expecting another snowstorm for a few more days.”

That only confused them more. “Aren’t we… underground?”

“Hm? I thought my Queen and children gave you a fairly thorough greeting on your first day. Perhaps Asriel was exaggerating again. Ah well, that will simply make our trip more exciting.” He chose a different coat, this one a faded blue hoodie with an orange stripe sewn in around the chest and arms. What was it with monsters and striped clothing?

F dug through the bottom drawers and found the rows of neatly folded socks, as well as something else that looked odd folded on its side. They pulled it out and found it to be a bright pink, knitted cap with a fluffy white ball dangling off the top. It even had hanging flaps that were supposed to be worn over the ears. They put it on and immediately fell in love with it. They tugged on the strings hanging from the flaps, keeping it secured firmly to their head, as if it would have prevented Asgore from taking it back had he wanted to.

If they just… didn't bring up the hat, then maybe he wouldn’t notice it and they could get away with keeping it?

No dice. Asgore noticed them tug it into place and grinned at them. He didn’t seem to mind that they were wearing it, but F knew it was entirely possible for him to ask for it back whenever they got to their destination. Maybe he’d forget by then? Or they could hide it, or...

“It suits you.” He said, reaching over and straightening the hat on their head. “I think this one was Green’s, once upon a time. If you’d like, you could keep it.”

F was certain their eyes were going to bulge out of their skull. They gasped and happily chirped out a “Really?” 

Asgore chuckled, looking a bit surprised. “Sure! If it’s here, then no one else wants it, or else it doesn't fit anyone anymore. You’re welcome to it.”

F felt so oddly… honored that they just continued to sit there in awe. The idea of just  _ asking _ for the hat had never even crossed their mind.

“Now, this one should fit you!” Asgore said cheerily, pulling a thick purple coat with dark blue stripes off a hanger. Asgore turned to the human and had them stand so he could get them dressed.

By the time the king was done, F felt like a marshmallow. They had a new pair of pants on overtop the jeans they’d been wearing, thick wool socks, two jackets, a scarf, and a pair of mittens. They had started to feel a bit overheated even before the second jacket, but they kept still and merely hoped that this Snowdin was as snowy as the name implied. 

Finally dressed, Asgore casually lifted them and placed them on the bed so he could lace up their boots. They were still a bit… unused to being carried, so presumably wherever they had lived before there weren't many people who could lift them. 

Maybe they were too old for it?

Wait...

“And there we are!” Asgore said pleasantly, proudly displaying his handiwork. They glanced down at their hiking boots, tucking in the tidy bows a tad morosely. The goat monster seemed to pause for a moment, looking over their face. 

“What’s wrong?” He asked, sounding genuinely concerned. “Are you OK with going? We don’t have to if you don’t feel ready.”

“I...” They swallowed thickly. “It’s not that, I just… I realized… um… I don’t know how old I am.”

It was silly, dumb even, to get hung up over their age, but they found they suddenly couldn’t think around it. It was like that had just been another hit; another kick in the gut while they were already down. Just when they thought they were used to everything, something else just came along and tried to crush their fresh happiness.

However, they refused to cry in front of the King. F bit their lip as they reigned back the sudden wave of choking emotion.

Asgore smiled patiently at them as they sat rigid, rubbing their arm in a familiar way in an effort to calm them. “Has… um, has anyone checked your soul yet?” He asked, and it was obvious that he was trying to mimic Toriel’s soothing cadence of words. He wasn’t quite as adept at it. “I know Chara said they didn’t yesterday, but has Toriel...?”

F shook their head. “Chara said we should wait until I’m use to magic?”

Asgore nodded. “It’ll make the experience more comfortable, for sure. And I don’t want to get your hopes up, but when we do check? Well, souls store all the very personal details about us, and about what we’ve been through. Even with the amnesia… we might be able to tell your age in yours.”

F felt a bit relieved at that, but they were mindful of Asgore’s advice and tried not to get too hopeful. Luckily, it was enough for them to finally force down the fresh anguish surrounding the metal blockade. It wasn’t like it was  _ that _ important, anyways, they argued to themself. They could live without their age, or just make up a number that felt close. They pondered it for a moment, trying to feel out how old they thought they were. Ten? Twelve? Something like that; something young but not  _ very _ young.

As they tried to poke around their own mind, they began to make a face from a combination of renewed frustration and the onset of a brand new headache. Asgore grinned at them again as the exaggerated frown played out on their features, and surprisingly, F found his expressions to be a lot like Chara’s. Even though Chara was adopted, it was very easy to think that the older human had inherited traits from the goat monsters… despite not having a muzzle smack dab in the center of their face and far less pointy teeth.

“Well, if you are still feeling comfortable with our stroll...?” Asgore asked, standing. F nodded, wobbling their way to their feet. “Let’s head out then.”

The King of all Monsters offered his hand to the small human, which F took without hesitation. The two shared a smile as they left the room and headed down the hall.

Toriel was in the front room, appearing to be waiting for the two. She had a hand on the railing as she stared into a painting of a path of golden flowers that had been hung over the stairwell. Her attention snapped to them the instant they were in the room.

“Now, don’t you go rushing them.” She cautioned Asgore with an accompanying stern raise of an eyebrow, as if she fully expected him to regardless. “This all can be so overwhelming for the new fallen.”

Asgore waved his free hand and raised F’s arm up as high as it could comfortably go without lifting the child off the ground. The conspiratorial set of his features returned, and the similarities to Chara were now all but confirmed. F raised their other arm up to mimic him, and produced a wide, shut-eyed grin in Toriel’s direction. “They’ll be fine, I’m sure! Just look how excited they are!”

The Queen sighed in exasperation, but she was smiling despite that when F opened their eyes again. Clearly the two often had discussions like this.

When F dropped their arms again, they felt a slight twinge of pain where they knew the bandage was located, but it was slight enough to shrug off. After all, adventure in snow awaited!

“Before you leave, however, come here.” Despite being worded as a request, Toriel’s voice brooked no argument.

The Queen knelt down and F walked over with a hint of uncertainty… until Toriel began adjusting the collars of their coat and under-jackets so that they were less crumpled and messy around the child’s neck. F could hear Asgore’s amused chuckling behind them as Toriel moved on to fussing with how their new pink hat was positioned on their head.

With a last brush of a smooth pawpad against F’s cheek to push stray hair behind one of the earflaps, she leaned back and gave the child one final, scrutinizing look.

“I suppose that will have to do,” she conceded, and then leaned forward to give F a warm, encompassing hug. “Be good, won’t you?” The soft words were probably too quiet for Asgore to hear, and it made F’s heart lurch.

F returned the hug, wrapping their arms around her neck. How could they not? Toriel practically radiated love and concern for them, just as Asriel had.

When they separated after a few seconds, the Queen put a gentle hand on F’s shoulder, ushering them back to Asgore.

The two of them joined hands again and began to tackle the stairwell together, the King’s cane making a hearty clack on the wood every third step. He paused at the base of the first flight to catch his breath and grumbled something incomprehensible under his puffing that made the still-watching Toriel stifle a giggle.

“Woman,” he huffed with a twinge of aggravation, “When you’re over a century old, you earn the right to complain about stairs.”

Toriel shook her head and left the room with a trace of her smile, leaving the two to continue their descent unobserved. F blinked in shock, wondering if Asgore was joking about being over a century old. He had to be, right? No one lived that long.

The two descended a few more flights of stairs before they reached a tunnel.

The corridor looming before them was long, angular and slanted, but thankfully well-lit due to the strategically placed pink and pale blue crystal sconces along the walls. The floor was very smooth and flat, as if someone had cut it all at once, and sparse of the earlier mosaic patterns. Or, so they thought anyway, until they made a turn around the first dipping bend. F passed a large number of drawings on the otherwise blank stone walls as they walked. They seemed to been inscribed with chalk. F lagged behind Asgore to look at a picture before catching back up to him.

They did this a few times, causing the King chuckle to himself as he walked.

They were childlike, crude depictions of shapes and objects, it seemed. Stick figures performing acts of sketchwork friendliness between said nigh-incomprehensible scribbles, with multiple stars and moons and suns that seemed to span the ‘sky’ of the whole hallway. F was unsurprised to see that some of the stick figures were very obviously not human.

The first they scrutinized was a weirdly-shaped dinosaur dragging a stick figure holding onto its tail. The dinosaur monster didn’t have arms. Another depicted two large bugs sitting atop a weird frog, while the frog sat atop another stick figure’s head. A third one had a monster with horns running from a stick figure and trailing a captured jacket. There were a few others F couldn’t understand...

...Including most of the ones that were somehow scribbled on the ceiling, amongst the ‘skies.’ F was impressed that someone was that  _ tall _ , even if those in particular were the hardest to make out. They nearly bumped into Asgore a few times while squinting up at them.

Some of the pictures reminded them strongly of the murals from the beginning of the Ruins, though they were far less refined. There was a certain charm to it that F greatly enjoyed. It made them want to add to it. It made it more relatable to think that, maybe, other children had come through and left their respective marks. 

Were there monster children? The thought occurred to them suddenly as they got up from their scrutinizing squat and ran back to Asgore’s side. They thought about asking the King, but a sudden pinprick of light down the slanted hallway captured their attention instead.

They came upon another massive doorway identical to the one at the forefront of the Ruins. The difference, this time, was that it was open.

Light, cold and bright, filtered through the crack between the parting of two massive stone slabs. After the soft glow of the crystals, it was blinding and stung their eyes as they drew closer.

The King placed a reassuring hand on their back as they both slowed in the face of the unwelcome brightness. An icy wind whipped past them as they stepped out of the threshold of the archway, and F’s boots crunched into something that sounded very familiar. The child rubbed their eyes and strained themself to open them in order to see anything beyond a vague blob of white.

“Welcome to Snowdin,” Asgore said as F’s eyes acclimated.

They exhaled slowly, the air in front of their face fogging in unnatural, illogical cold. After a small pause, they started grinning uncontrollably as their gaze fell upon the snow.

Snow! Actual, real snow! In the middle of a cave system! Their mind failed to provide a logical reasoning behind it or any way this could even make sense, but F found that they really didn’t care. They found the whole thing exhilarating; just more signs of magic.

The duo stepped out into the white fluff, the extra layers keeping the chill out. F felt the unpleasant warmth from their clothes leave them in a  _ snap _ , replaced with a small shiver down their spine. They tugged their scarf up a bit, watching their breath with awe and hoping they didn’t get too cold. They’d hate to have to tell Asgore that and have him say something like  _ I told you so _ ... even if they deserved it. 

Though, their arms were still warm, specifically their left one. The heat there felt a bit odd, but F was too distracted by the snow to pay it much more than passing attention. Whatever was under the bandage must’ve just been a bit swollen or something. 

They rushed out into the snow, their boots sinking several inches with every step. Asgore seemed to find their awe and joy cute, watching them stomp around with a smile. They wondered if they could pause to build snowmen, but didn’t know how to ask. 

Besides, they had stuff to do. They probably couldn’t afford to hang around and play. So, instead, F just ran circles around the monster. Despite their antics, he appeared to be managing very well in the snow, though that was probably just because he was so big. F watched him casually step through snow that went up to their calves like it was no bother, and with all that fur he probably wasn’t feeling any of the chill. They felt the tiniest bit jealous, but then happened to wonder what all that fur might be like in the heat and decided it was probably not worth it.

The path before them seemed endless, the kind of trail that might’ve scared them if they had been alone. To either side were armies of pine trees, all standing too close together to see through. The light didn’t pass through either; it was simply absorbed within the first few layers and swallowed, making the forest appear dark and foreboding. Each tree seemed to stretch miles and miles upward, all of them wild and untamed. Branches jutted out over the path constantly, roots and twigs lining the road. Clearly this path was either uncared for, or too wild  _ to _ do much about. 

Staring into the forest, F couldn’t help but feel like, maybe, something was staring  _ back _ .

But that was silly. They focused on the snow instead, but that novelty wore off pretty quickly. Once they tired of running around, they kept close to Asgore and tried to ignore the forest around them.

Their breath puffed out before them in uneven clouds, revealing just how spotty it had gotten. It was partially because they had been running around, but there was also the lighting to think about. They hadn’t noticed it before, but now that they were staring into the forest they couldn’t help but compare it to the path. Wherever the light was coming from, it reflected excessively off the snow and caught on everything else at odd angles, making the forest seem… surreal. It was illogical for the trees to just…  _ steal _ light like that.

Something about this place was slowly starting to really eat at them, causing their heart do funny little jumps in their chest. Something about the dreamlike environment made them feel just the tiniest bit claustrophobic.

They tried to just shake it off, to just relax, keeping a bit closer to Asgore as the two walked. Their panic threatened to break out and drown them, and they wondered if they could somehow convince Asgore to hold their hand as they walked. They couldn’t figure out how to ask, though, so they just kept quiet instead.

The two continued on and on, the trail almost eerily straight. Asgore wasn't having any kind of problem with the path. Instead he just hummed cheerily, stepping casually over the large branches cluttering the path as if this was more like a stroll. F had to remind themself that this was  _ supposed _ to be a stroll, and that their anxiety was completely unfounded. They took a breath and tried to channel the King’s chipperness.

Being a munchkin in comparison to Asgore, they still had to scramble over the larger branches and roots, all the while ignoring the feeling of being watched.

They weren’t very successful at it. So when they heard the same sticks all  _ snap _ in a sharp racket behind them, they spun right back around without thinking. Asgore turned as well, signifying that it wasn’t just their paranoia at play here. But...

Nothing was there. 

Well, no, that wasn’t quite right. Something  _ had _ been there, because now one of the larger sticks was broken, but nothing was there  _ now _ . F felt sweat start to build around their brow. 

Asgore merely shrugged and continued on, but F was peeking over their shoulder every other step. They had to be obvious about it, but the old monster never questioned them. It didn’t help make them feel any better. 

They were about to suggest something, anything, when suddenly the ambush struck.

Icey cold snow smacked them in the back of the head, instantly coating their hat, head, and their neck. They jumped straight in the air, whirling around before they knew what they were doing. Asgore turned with them, only to earn a facefull of snow himself.

Only now did F realize what had hit them. They ran a hand over the back of their neck, shocked that they’d been hit by a  _ snowball _ . They looked back down the path at the attacker, so bemused that they actually had to chuckle despite the uncomfortable dribble of melting snow into the back of their shirt.

Standing there, looking  _ very _ pleased with themself, was a human-like person. F wondered if they  _ were _ human, since they looked very much like one and so far none of the monsters they’d met looked much like humans.

The maybe-human person stood there in triumph, with skin roughly the same dark shade as F’s own and  _ very _ black hair. The hair was frizzy, pulled back into a ponytail that didn’t seem to be containing it at all, and they brushed several strands out of their face as they grinned at the two. They were fairly tall, though they had nothing on Asgore, and were built like an athlete. They were an adult, clearly, but F couldn’t begin to guess their age in their wide, carefree grin. Unlike the only other human they’d met, Chara, this human wasn’t wearing anything as formal as robes. Instead, they wore a pair of sturdy looking jeans and a thick black jacket that did nothing to hide the muscles contained therein. 

“Mornin’ Pops!” The human called out, smiling broadly. “Did I getcha good?”

“Oh yes you did.” Asgore admitted, brushing snow from his face. “Throwing snowballs at people probably isn’t the best way to introduce yourself, though.” F didn’t fail to notice that, despite knowing this person, Asgore had tensed up some. He seemed to be expecting something.

“Ah, I’m just teasing!” The human strolled casually over. F smiled at the newcomer and, feeling a bubbling sense of mischief, quickly bent down to scoop some snow up themself.

They didn’t get far before they were caught in the act. The other human spotted them off the bat and grinned, their arms soon bundled with snow as well. F gaped dramatically, frantically trying to finish their arsenal before the newcomer. Moments later, snowballs were flying.

“Oh come...!” Asgore began to protest, but the new human threw another snowball at his face and deflected his criticism. 

Within seconds, the two humans were in a full on snowball fight. F was laughing loudly, all feelings of foreboding flooding away in the exhilaration of the moment. 

Asgore seemed to just stand off to the side, looking utterly defeated with both of his hands resting his weight on the cane. It was like he was watching two children play rather than one adult having a snowball fight with a child, like he was only there to chaperone and make sure they played safely. F found the whole situation hilarious; something about the unexpected appearance and the King’s exasperated acceptance of his new role felt odd in a funny sort of way. 

But still, the new human  _ was _ an adult, so F had no chance against them. After a few minutes of fighting, the adult managed to dodge all of F’s snowballs and dart ever closer. They tried to keep the other back, but they were suddenly scooped up into the newcomer’s arms.

They went flying, tossed into the air without any kind of warning. It was so unexpected that they didn't so much as move, but the human caught them with ease and shot a grin full of teeth at them.

They were immediately reminded of Asriel and they giggled at the similarity. Out of the corner of their eye, F saw Asgore losing all of his built-up tension in a clear slump of relief. Apparently this was what he had been nervous about, which didn’t seem all that bad to F.

The new human didn’t seem interested in letting them down, which reminded them again of Asriel. They smiled at F and sent the child flying again, up even higher than before. F was laughing aloud now, deciding they liked this human.

“Oh come on Orange, don’t hurt them!” Asgore fussed. 

“I’m not gonna hurt them!” The human protested. “I got this.”

F had to agree. The thought of this human accidently injuring them by tossing them like this hadn’t even entered their head. There was overwhelming confidence in his movements. 

Orange scooped them back into his arms after a couple more throws, bundling them up onto his shoulders. They felt like they could see out for miles. 

“They’re just the cutest thing!” He declared, sounding excited and proud. “You mind if I call you my little sibling, kiddo?”

F ruffled his hair in agreement, the ponytail getting even looser, feeling more than comfortable with the thought of them being like siblings. He laughed, his whole body moving with the gesture and threatening to topple them off again. 

“Guess we can now  _ formally _ recognize them as family then, eh Dad?” Orange asked, teasingly nudging the King with his elbow. Seemingly despite himself, Asgore was grinning.

He sigh dramatically. “Ah yes, now that Orange has adopted them, F is now  _ fully _ a member of the Underground?”

Orange rolled his head up, giving F a grin so filled with mischief it could give Chara a run for their money. “He’s always like this, don’t worry. And  _ Orange _ always sounded too formal. Just call me OJ.”

F gave a smart nod in response, their smile refusing to turn down for any reason. They decided they didn’t mind. 

“Nice to meetcha then, F!” OJ said cheerily. “I assume everyone else is waiting in the actual town?”

Asgore nodded. “I was planning on making the announcement once we arrived, as a matter of fact. How’d you find out?” He arched a curious eyebrow at OJ.

“Lucky guess, really!” Orange replied, completely sincerely.

The King was seen trying desperately not to roll his eyes. It was almost as if Asgore had known OJ would trudge all the way out here on a simple  _ hunch _ . From what F had seen so far, they likely wouldn’t have put it past the energetic adult either. 

The walk shifted into something completely serene and uneventful, and the trees seemed far less foreboding now that they were perched atop OJ’s shoulders. F tangled their mitted fingers in the older human’s frizzy hair as he kept a quick pace in time with his energetic chatter about the town. He was far more lively than Asgore, who seemed content with a soft noise here and there as OJ held up the conversation for all three of them. And the more he spoke, the more F felt comfortable with him.

They’d maybe come half a mile on the winding path before they reached a well-maintained wooden bridge built over a dark chasm. A sharp, whistling wind cut around the structure and made the timbers shiver in their slots. F’s hands tightened on OJ’s hair as they crossed, finding out immediately that the wind belching from the dark depths was just as cold as it sounded. The child hunched over on top of OJ’s head, pulling their hat over their eyes to keep the icy gusts out of their face. They weren’t halfway across before OJ spoke, tilting his neck forward as he strained to see something in the distance.

He spoke loudly to be heard over the wind. “Uh oh, trouble’s coming!” It was the only warning the other two had before the indiscernible, angry shouting could be heard even over the shrieking chasm.

“‘aaay, big sib!” OJ tilted his head back in the direction of the yelling, and the angle let them get a quick glimpse from beneath the edge of their hat at figure stomping their way with measured intent.


End file.
